Steel Thorns
by sheriffandsteel
Summary: Arya came to King's Landing University knowing that her days there were numbered. She told herself that she was not to plant any more roots than she had to. Unfortunately, no one else seemed to get that memo. Companion to A Year of Flowers.
1. Forge

Note: This is a companion piece to my Sansa/Margaery fic _A Year of Flowers_. You do not have to have read that story to read this one. They take place at the same time. For those of you that have read_ Flowers_ I am currently toying with the idea of a sequel but I wanted to write what Arya had been up to that year first.

Enjoy!

**Chapter One: Forge**

_New Year's Eve_

It was strange to be ringing in the new year without there being snow on the ground.

Arya supposed it couldn't be any stranger than Christmas had been; she had never spent Christmas anywhere other than Winterfell before and without the knee-deep snow and Bran and Rickon's early morning wake-up call it hadn't really felt like Christmas at all.

She had told her family that her biology class had required them to all stay in King's Landing during the winter break to finish up a project but in reality, it had only been an extra credit project and Arya had needed to complete it if she wanted to get an A. It had also only been a one-day event and she could have left for home only two days after the break had started but Arya knew that if she went to Winterfell there was no way in Seven Hells that she would be coming back to King's Landing.

"Hurry up Arry! Gods you are so slow." Aegon whined over his shoulder at her as he led their small group down dark alleyways and twisting side streets. If Arya hadn't already been to the bar he was taking them to she might have been slightly worried he was actually planning on killing them all. Although she supposed if Aegon really wanted to kill them he could just cook them something. The boy was easily the worst cook she had ever met.

Her dormitory was closed for the winter break and Arya hadn't decided she was going to stay until it was too late to apply for one of the break housing rooms. They had all been full. She could have stayed at Sansa's apartment and crashed on her couch but Arya didn't think she could survive three weeks in the same space as her sister. It was awkward enough on Christmas when it was just the two of them opening presents and trying to pretend that they weren't both keenly aware this was the first time they had been alone in years.

With very little options and knowing going home wasn't one of them, Arya asked one of the only friends she had bothered to make (or more accurately the only person that had incessantly latched onto her until he could call himself her friend) if she could crash at his place for the break. Aegon had agreed happily and his housemates, Hot-Pie and Lommy, were fine with it as well. She had taken to making dinner for the four of them every night as a thank you since they were mostly surviving on stale cereal and Hot-Pie's baked goods. He was a great baker but the other two were hopeless when it came to cooking. Aegon got too distracted and Lommy just didn't care for it. Arya was pretty sure Lommy hadn't eaten a vegetable for months before she was staying there. They all seemed to think it was a fair enough trade.

Arya toyed with the silver necklace hanging around her throat as they walked. It was a small sword, barely as long as her pinkie. Jon (who was her favorite brother even if he was actually her cousin) had given it to her the night before he left for the army. Arya had protested since he was the one leaving so technically, she should be the one giving him something. Jon had mused her hair and told her that knowing she was wearing it would be his gift. She had named the little sword Needle because Robb had read her a story once that all swords had names. Arya hadn't taken the necklace off since that day and she had taken to playing with it when she was feeling nervous or restless.

"Why did we walk again?" Hot-Pie whined as he wrapped his thick coat closer around him. "It's cold."

Arya did her best to hide her snort. She was wearing her trusty leather jacket and she felt a bit too warm, her blood still used to the deep chill of the North.

Aegon simply waved Hot-Pie off as he bounded happily towards the door of the bar that he worked at. Arya didn't understand why Aegon insisted on hanging out at the place where he worked, she assumed that he would have gotten enough of the place while he was working. Perhaps since she had never had a job before she just didn't understand.

Arya had been to the bar before but she had never actually seen it crowded. Their New Year celebration was well underway and people were jammed tight against the bar and crowding the tables scattered throughout the restaurant portion. Arya ducked under a long gold streamer; one end had come loose from the ceiling to hang down to the ground. Aegon let out a shout at someone sitting at the bar and headed to them happily, the others trailing after him.

"Gendry my man, you made it!" Aegon cried happily as he pulled a broad-shouldered dark-haired man into a one-armed hug before turning to the bartender, Davos, waving to catch his attention. Arya was relieved to see it was Davos bartending that night, he didn't care that Arya wasn't legally allowed to be in the bar for another couple of weeks like some of Aegon's other coworkers did.

Arya surveyed the dark-haired man curiously; she was used to Aegon knowing seemingly everyone in King's Landing. The boy was too talkative for his own good. This one looked slightly familiar to her; it was just there at the back of her mind but she couldn't seem to place where she knew him from. Arya watched as he said his hellos to Hot-Pie and Lommy who managed to steal the bar stools next to him as a couple left to head towards the dark shadows of the room. Gendry turned to look at her, and his piercing blue eyes narrowed for a second as if he too was trying to place her.

"You were in my writing class." Gendry declared, snapping his fingers as the realization came to him.

The memory of a small cramped room with desks shoved too close together hit Arya and she remembered seeing him in the front of the room, the largeness of his frame had been blocking her view of the professor. Not that she had been paying much attention to her anyway.

"Yeah. Arya." she didn't hold her hand out to him or anything, she had never really cared for forced politeness. He didn't seem to be offended by her lack of manners which was a jarring change from most of the people she had met in the capital.

"Did you drop the class or something? I only saw you there a few times." Gendry asked curiously, leaning closer so that she could hear him better over the noise of the bar.

Arya shook her head as she accepted the drink Aegon suddenly shoved into her hands before he stepped between her and Gendry to reach the others. She didn't feel like getting into the fact that she only went to the class a handful of times because the professor's voice had been too grating on her ears. Thankfully it wasn't a class that attendance was taken into the grade so she still passed with an A.

Gendry's brow furrowed as he looked her up and down. "What, are you too good to go to class?" Arya could tell from the tightness of his voice that while he had been going for a carefree tone, he had very much failed at it. While her not shaking his hand was fine, somehow her not going to class offended him. She didn't think she would ever understand Southerners. Thankfully that wouldn't be a problem for her for much longer.

"I learned just fine from the book." Arya said coolly as she drank the bitter drink Aegon had given her. It was Wildfire, the bright green drink that bars in King's Landing seemed to favor but that Arya thought was a waste of good alcohol. It made the back of her throat burn like flames were licking down it but she refused to cough when Gendry was looking at her in disdain. Annoyance began to make her muscles tense; she didn't know this man why was he staring at her like she had personally wronged him?

"But you pay that tuition for the class as well." Gendry protested as he toyed with his own drink, his beer was far more sensible than the drink that had been hoisted on her and Arya made a note to not let Aegon pick her drinks any more.

At Arya's careless shrug Gendry's eyes narrowed more and he picked up his glass. "Figures you're just another rich girl." he muttered into the rim of his mug.

Arya's eyes narrowed as she glared at him. She did not come out here just to be insulted. "You don't know any other rich girls." Arya snapped as she spun away from him. She was going to find a table for her and her friends so that she could get as far away from this condescending man as possible.

A hand on her wrist stopped her and Arya looked down to see Gendry's large hand holding her wrist lightly. Arya looked up at him with a coolly raised eyebrow and debated if she should hit him for grabbing her. Her thoughts must have appeared on her face because Gendry dropped her hand like it had burned him.

"Sorry." he muttered sheepishly as he ran a hand over the back of his neck. His cheeks reddened the more she glared at him. She hoped he could see how satisfied that made her. "It took me a long time to save up for school. I guess I'm still a bit sensitive about it."

"A bit?" Arya couldn't stop the coldness from seeping into her voice. It seemed the wildfire couldn't burn that away.

Instead of flinching away at her tone like most people did Gendry had the gall to grin at her and roll his eyes. "Fine a lot." He looked at the barely touched green drink in her hands and wrinkled his nose in disgust. "You're not really going to drink that shit, right? Let me buy you a real drink."

Arya felt both of her eyebrows raise and she was tempted to down the drink in her hands just to prove a point but the thought of putting any more of it into her body stopped her. Instead she stepped forward next to the bar beside him and shoved the green drink at Aegon who took it happily.

"Whiskey." Arya said as she settled against the bar. Gendry grinned at her in appreciation as he rose his hand to beckon Davos over.

Arya watched him curiously as the noise of the bar crested louder and louder as more people came in. She had a feeling the night would be going in a different direction than what she had first expected.

_January_

Her first thought upon waking was that she was dead. That quickly proved false because if she were dead, she would not have this pounding pain between her eyes. Arya let out a moan and buried her face deeper into her pillow. It took her a moment to realize the pillow was much softer than the scratchy one she used at the boys' house. Arya cracked open her eyes and in the darkness she could just make out the paisley print on the pillow under her face. It took her a lot longer than it should have to recognize it as Sansa's.

After Gendry had bought her a shot last night what was meant to be one apology drink soon turned into a drinking battle. They kept buying each other shots and trying to match each other for each one. Even after midnight passed and everyone cheered for the New Year they stayed, laughing so hard Arya nearly fell of the bar stool. Davos had warned her to pace herself, she was easily half of Gendry's size but Arya had simply waved him off. She had been drinking with her brothers for nearly two years. She could handle herself just fine.

The bar closed down at two and Lommy and Hot-Pie wanted to head back to their beds. Aegon had slipped away an hour before with a boy with hair so red it looked like fire. Arya didn't expect they would see him again until late tomorrow. Arya was all set to head home with the boys and fall asleep on their couch but as they were leaving the bar Gendry had asked her if she wanted to go get pizza with him. Apparently, there was a great all-night place only a few blocks away. Arya hadn't thought she was hungry but at the mention of pizza she was suddenly ravenous.

It wasn't until the boys had bid her good-night and left that Arya realized she was now alone and drunk with a man she had only just met. She was worried that he might be expecting something more than company and food from her and she reached out to grab his arm and pulled him to a stop on the empty sidewalk.

Gendry looked down at her curiously as Arya wobbled unsteadily on her feet. "I'm not having sex with you." she proclaimed loudly, far louder than she meant to. Gendry sputtered in surprise as he looked down at her. Arya shrugged casually as she dropped his arm. "Just so you know."

"Pizza wasn't a code word for sex. It's just pizza." Gendry shook his head at her and even in the pale glow of the streetlight Arya could make out the blush on his cheeks.

"Then lead the way good sir!" Arya cried as she waved her arm out. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this drunk, probably Robb's wedding last winter. She felt pleasantly warm and fuzzy all over and pizza sounded _delicious_ at the moment.

"As m'lady commands." Gendry said with a mock bow. Arya punched his arm lightly causing him to let out a surprised laugh.

"Don't call me that!" she snapped but there wasn't any real malice in it.

After two slices of what was quite possibly the best pizza Arya had ever had she decided that she was simply too tired to walk all the way back to the boys' house. As she stood on the dark street Arya realized that they were only a few streets away from her sister's apartment and Arya announced that she was going to head there. She had started off only to look back over her shoulder and realize with a start that Gendry was following after her.

"That wasn't an invitation to join me." Arya reminded him sternly causing Gendry to roll his eyes at her again.

"I'm making sure you get there safe weirdo." Gendry explained putting a hand on the middle of her back to steer her forward. Arya tripped over her feet at the movement and laughed at her own clumsiness. She didn't know how she had managed to find Sansa's apartment or if she had woken her sister to get inside (she must have as she didn't have a key). All Arya really cared about now that she had figured out where she was and mostly remembered how she had gotten there was going back to sleep.

She woke up again a few hours later and felt slightly more coherent although the room was still a little fuzzy. Arya lifted her head from the pillow to take in the early light filled room and noticed Sansa sitting at the windowsill with a notebook balanced on her lap and a dreamy look on her face. As if she could feel her eyes on her Sansa turned to look over at her and smiled at her in sympathy.

"Rough night?" she asked, even though she tried to speak quietly her voice still felt like gunshots in Arya's ears. She merely groaned in response before falling back onto the pillows.

It was only about twenty minutes before Arya roused again and this time she felt well enough to actually keep her eyes open as she watched her sister curiously. She was sitting in the same place she had been when Arya had woken before but now she had a dejected look on her pretty features.

"What are you doing?" Arya mumbled curiously; it was break so she knew Sansa couldn't be working on homework. Unless she working on next semester's stuff. She seemed like a big enough nerd to do something like that.

"Trying to think of my New Year's resolution." Sansa admitted.

Arya let out a laugh that quickly morphed into a groan at the throbbing pain in her head. She closed her eyes at the pain and let her head fall back against the couch. "Those stupid things? People still do that?" Arya sighed and opened her eyes to peer over at Sansa. "Why put yourself through the pressure of disappointing yourself in a few weeks?"

Sansa shrugged and Arya felt a brief stab of guilt at the blush gracing her sister's cheeks at her words. "I want to find something I'll stick to this time. Something I can do."

Arya groaned as she flopped over onto her other side gracelessly so that she could look at Sansa without twisting her neck around. It was far too early in the day for this serious of a conversation. "Resolve to get straight A's or something, or to go to class every day." She said before letting out a huge yawn. She felt like she could sleep for three straight days.

"I already go to class every day and I have a 4.0." Sansa frowned as she looked at Arya in concern. "Are you not going to class every day?"

Arya waved her hand in the air dismissively, "Hey this isn't about me, it's about you!" She had had enough of people getting on her case about going to class. What was with everyone all of a sudden? "What about no going out on school nights?" Arya said as she threw an arm over her eyes to block out the light of the sun. Had the sun always been this bright?

"I only go out on school nights when it's an important function I can't reschedule." Sansa admitted. Arya hadn't realized her older sister was so boring. Maybe because they didn't spend much time together. "I make sure to only go out on dates on the weekend."

"Well then, I don't know, maybe you should just give up dating." Arya sighed from behind her arms as she shifted to get more comfortable. As much as she disliked her roommate, she was looking forward to sleeping in a bed again. She was over couches.

"No dating." Sansa whispered softly, causing Arya to move her arms apart a bit to peer out at her curiously from behind them, her attention caught by Sansa's tone.

Arya watched curiously at the mix of emotions that crossed Sansa's face as she nodded and whispered, "No dating. For a whole year."

"Are you serious?" Arya asked, feeling slightly more coherent. Sansa had been in and out of more relationships than Arya bothered to keep track of.

"Yes." Sansa admitted as she looked over at her, "I think it's a great idea."

"Why?" Arya asked slowly. She wasn't sure if Sansa was trying to mock her or not and she was simply too tired and hangover to figure it out.

Sansa's face went red and she stared at her hands as she whispered. "Because...I can't keep expecting other people to love me if I'm not even sure if I love myself."

Arya propped herself up on her elbow to watch her sister curiously. This was getting dangerously touchy feely and Arya very much wanted to leave, or preferably, go back to sleep. However, she couldn't help but admit this would be a good thing for her sister, especially after what she had just said. But Sansa also had a track record of not finishing what she started.

"I've never known you to keep a New Year's resolution." Arya said slowly, as an idea began to form.

"Well I'll keep this one." Sansa snapped as she sat up straighter like she could force her back to hold the weight of she had just decided to do.

"Yeah you will." Arya mulled her idea over as she collapsed back onto the couch and tugged at her short hair. She was silent for a moment before she looked back over at Sansa and said definitively. "Because my New Year's resolution is making sure that you keep yours."

Sansa looked at her in surprise. "You've never made a resolution in your life."

"Yup." Arya yawned as she turned her back on Sansa and the sun behind her, pulling the pillow over her head to block out the light. She felt suddenly drained and wanted very much to be done with this emotional conversation. "That's how you know I'll keep this one. I've been saving up all my resolve."

XxX

It was another three hours before Arya woke up and felt coherent enough to check her phone. She rose her eyebrows at the seven missed calls, one from Lommy, two from Hot-pie and four from Aegon. Arya felt a wave of guilt wash over her as she realized that she hadn't texted them to let them know she had gone to her sister's house the night before.

Groaning she opened her text messages to find a group chat consisting of the four of them that had been started that morning, nearly two hours before.

**Hot-Pie:** I need pancakes. So many pancakes.

**Lommy:** Arry is closest to the kitchen. Arry bring us pancakes!

**Hot-Pie:** Pancakes!

**Hot-Pie:** I just went downstairs. There's no pancakes and no Arry. :(

**Hot-Pie:** Arry where are you? Are you dead?

**Aegon:** I could go for pancakes.

Worked up quite the appetite if you know what I mean. ;)

**Lommy:** We all know what you mean.

Please don't give us details.

Please.

**Aegon:** I would never give details of my amazing sex life over text!

I'll tell you in person!

**Hot-Pie:** ARRY WHERE ARE YOU?

**Lommy:** Did you go home with Gendry? :o

**Aegon:** WHAT?  
**Aegon:** Girl do you know how long I have been trying to ride that bull?

**Aegon:** Not sure if I'm mad or proud!

**Aegon**: Why aren't you responding?

Was it that good?

The rest of the thread consisted of them text yelling her name and talking about breakfast food. Arya read the whole thing before letting out a laugh that morphed into a moan at the pain it brought her head. She really needed to remember to stop laughing.

Picking up her phone Arya took a quick selfie and sent it to the group chat with the caption 'Not dead' as she stood up to take a shower. She grabbed onto the back of the couch as she wobbled unsteadily.

She was halfway to the bathroom when her phone went off repeatedly.

**Aegon:** Didn't picture Gendry as the throw pillow type.

Especially paisley ones. To each their own I guess.

Arya rolled her eyes and quickly typed another message.

**Arya:** Not at Gendry's. At Sansa's.

**Aegon:** Boo! One of us needs to ride that bull. I'd prefer me but I can live vicariously through you.

**Hot-Pie:** Glad you're alive. Meet us at the Crossroads in thirty.

XxX

After her shower (where she threw up down the drain only once) Arya felt a lot better. She wrinkled her nose as she redressed in the same clothes she had been out in the night before. At least her jeans and t-shirt were casual enough it didn't look like she was doing the walk of shame. Which Arya personally thought was bullshit. Why the hell did it matter if you went home in the morning in the same clothes as the night before? As long as it was consensual who cared who was sleeping with who?

Arya had a lot of thoughts about things like that but the truth was that she had never been with anyone before. Sure, she'd had a few rushed kisses but nothing serious. She just didn't see the point in tying her life so closely with another person's. It was part of the reason she had never really understood her sister. She had been dating people for so long Arya didn't know how she was going to make it through the year on her own. She couldn't even remember the last time Sansa was single for longer than a few weeks.

After calling a goodbye to her sister Arya headed outside to the gray streets of King's Landing. She didn't understand why people always said the capital was beautiful. As far as she was concerned it was just an over populated dirty city. She had never been a fan of it, not in the few trips they'd made there when she was a child and especially not now that she lived there.

Arya had wanted to stay in Winterfell for university. She wanted to be a Direwolf like her father and older brother. She had planned on only applying to the University of Winterfell but at her guidance counselor's insistence she had also applied to Storm's End University and King's Landing University. She didn't want to go to either one of them but she had always found the Storm Lands fascinating and KLU at least had interesting programs of study. She had considered applying to go abroad in Braavos but she had already spent two years studying there in primary school. Arya wanted to stay closer to home this time. It was Winterfell or bust for her.

Much to her chagrin the only school that accepted her was the one she hadn't really wanted to go to. She had received the acceptance letter to KLU first and had abandoned it on her desk to remind herself to decline their offer of admission once she got her acceptance from Winterfell. When she got her rejection from Storm's End it didn't even sting, she was so set on Winterfell. The day she got her rejection letter from them was the first time she had cried since Rickon made her watch Marley and Me.

Thankfully she had told no one where she had applied so rather than face her family looking at her with sympathy when she told them she was going to King's Landing for school they were only excited for her and disappointed to see her go. Secretly, Arya thought her parents were mostly just happy that Arya was going to be in the same town as Sansa. She overheard her mother whispering to her before they left to keep an eye on Arya.

In truth she only planned on being at KLU for a year. She was going to build up her grades and apply to Winterfell again in the spring as a transfer student. This time next year she would be right back where she belonged, playing in the snow with Nymeria at her side.

Her dreams of home kept her going all the way to the diner Hot-Pie had told her to meet them at. She spied them making faces at her through the glass and she laughed with a wave. She had tried very hard to not become close to anyone or anything while she was here, constantly reminding herself that her days in the capital where numbered. But her and Aegon had shared a freshman orientation class together and he had attached himself to her side like a barnacle. Over time he was no longer a nuisance but actually her friend and since Hot-Pie, Lommy and him where a matching set Arya ended up with three friends when she had been hoping for none.

The bell on the door announced her arrival and before she was even fully through the door Aegon was yelling out at her, "I can't believe you almost slept with Gendry without me!"

Arya wasn't usually one for blushing but as every face in the diner turned towards her Arya felt her face go as red as Sansa's hair.

XxX

The rest of the break passed uneventfully. Arya spent the days while the boys were at work exploring the streets of the city. She supposed there was some beauty in its twisting streets and the cool expanse of the bay but the litter and smog took most of that away. Her wanderings did lead her to all kinds of unexpected places and she spent one afternoon lost in a museum on the knights of the Seven Kingdoms that she had never known existed. She made a mental note to take Bran there the next time he came to visit before she realized that by the time he came to visit she wouldn't live there anymore. They would just have to visit Sansa and go to the museum then.

Her eighteenth birthday fell two days before the break ended and after phone calls with all of her family members Arya, Lommy, Hot-Pie and Aegon proceeded to get ridiculously drunk. Her hangover lasted until classes started. Her family had sent her several gifts but Arya's favorite by far was the handwoven friendship bracelet Rickon had sent her. He had learned to make them at summer camp three years ago and had been giving them to Arya for gifts since then since she was the only one in the family who ever wore them. Now she had seven of them stacked on her wrist, the colors of the first few badly faded and torn.

Lommy had tried to tease her about the bracelets once but one of Arya's death glares was all it took to stop that train in its tracks.

By the time the dorms reopened Arya was grateful to be back in her own space. The boys were wonderful and she appreciated them letting her crash on their couch for three weeks but Aegon was like a dog with a bone over this Gendry thing that was not a thing. He kept bothering her about when she was going to see him again and Arya had to keep reminding him that she didn't even have his phone number and she wasn't looking to date anyone at the moment. Aegon had simply snorted, "Who said anything about dating?"

He had offered to give her Gendry's number but she denied and snapped at him to stop trying to plan matchmaker.

Being back in the dorms was a welcome relief even if her and her roommate, Arianne, did not get along. At all. Arianne was fond of leaving hair-ties on the doorknob and forcing Arya to find other places to study or sleep for the night. She also had a constant string of friends in and out of the room. Their giggles would always cause Arya to open up her transfer application on her laptop and stare at it wistfully.

Her roommate was part of the reason she had skipped so many classes last semester; it was the only time she could have the room to herself and she would just sit in blessed silence. She had grown up in a crowded house but she'd had her own room. This sharing a room with a stranger thing was not something she was fond of.

The class schedule she had this semester seemed like it would be as easy as the one she had last term. Arya was focusing only on taking general education requirements, she had even checked the UoW website to make sure all the credits would transfer over before she had registered for any. She was not about to waste this year away with classes that didn't count once she got into her real school.

Her first day of class was boring and uneventful although she did have a lab class with Hot-Pie so at least she had a guaranteed partner. Her second day seemed to be going much the same until she got the buildings for her history lecture class confused and had to sprint across campus to make it to the hall in time. She might be a slacker but she wasn't about to skive off the first day of class.

The lecture hall was packed by the time she got there and the professor was already readying her supplies up front to begin the lecture. There was only a minute to spare so Arya did not bother looking around for a good seat and instead slipped into the first empty one she saw; it was on the aisle about halfway down the rows.

Arya tried to catch her breath as she sat down, grateful that all of her years of physical activity kept her in good enough shape that she wasn't sweating and panting too loudly, although the person beside her did cast a curious look over at her. A light tap on her shoulder caught her attention as she got settled and Arya looked behind her curiously, starting a little at the sight of familiar bright blue eyes.

"Fancy seeing you here m'lady." Gendry grinned as she glared at him at the moniker.

"I told you not to call me that." she snapped which only made him grin wider.

"Are you actually going to come to this class?" Gendry whispered as the professor began to call the class's attention.

Arya simply shrugged as she ran the pads of her fingers over Needle's worn and familiar surface. "If it interests me." She turned back to face the front and told herself that the warm feeling in her chest was simply from her dash across campus and nothing else.

_February_

The word document she was using to write her transfer application essay sat open on her computer endlessly. She kept the tab up in the hopes that she would be able to jot down any sudden inspiration but to her discomfort no words were coming to her no matter how hard she tried. Arya told herself that she still had six weeks until the application was due so it wasn't the end of the world that her essay was only a third of the way finished.

Some days she believed herself more than others.

The days passed slowly, filled with little more than classes and an endless stream of text messages to her sister reminding her to not go and date anyone. Sansa rarely replied and Arya found herself having fun thinking up different ways to text the same basic message to Sansa. When her sister did bother to grace her with a reply it was often in the form of memes. Arya wasn't planning on telling Sansa that she had saved a few of her favorite ones to a new folder on her phone dedicated solely to memes.

The only other thing that broke up the monotony of her days were the long walks she took to kill the time when she would return to her room only to find a hair-tie hanging off the door handle, Arianne's not too clever way of telling her that she needed the room to herself and whoever was inside with her. Arya didn't care who Arianna was sleeping with she just didn't understand why they would never go hook up over at their place. Arya was getting pretty sick of hanging out in the common room and wandering the streets of King's Landing.

If she was being honest with herself the walks weren't the worst thing in the world. Arya had always enjoyed going for walks, she had a special playlist for long walks and she would put on her headphones and just zone out the rest of the world. Her walks were how she discovered the city anyway, she wasn't one for touristy places she liked things that she found off the beaten track. It was how she had stumbled upon the little café, the Acorn, she was so fond off.

She would lose herself on the walks, never walking with any sense of purpose and letting her feet and the flow of traffic take her wherever they wanted to go. She always found herself hopelessly lost by the time she was ready to go home and it had become a bit of a game to her to see how long it would take her to get back to the dorms without using the maps on her phone. This was a good game for her to play as more often than not her phone would die on the walks while she was still far from campus.

Arya had been out for nearly two hours when the wind began to pick up and she decided that she should go back to the dorms and work on her homework. If Arianna still had a hair-tie over the dorm her and her partner would just have to pause long enough for Arya to grab her books and then they could get back to their business. She had to maintain good grades to transfer out and she wouldn't let anyone or anything jeopardize that.

She cut down a small side alley and looked around curiously. She was in a part of town she had never been in before and there were lots of alleys and one-way streets crisscrossing and turning tight corners in a dizzying sort of mess like no one had really planned on the city getting as large as it did. Arya followed the curve of the road and was debating if going left or right would be the shorter way home when a bright white flyer on a telephone pole caught her eye and she approached it curiously.

It was a stark white flyer with bold black letters proclaiming spaces for a boxing class were still available. Arya liked the starkness of the flyer, there were no frills to it, it got straight to the point. The classes were held at a martial arts gym called the House of Black and White that Arya had never heard of although she hadn't heard much of any marital arts or boxing in the city.

She had taken water dancing classes when she had been studying in Braavos and Syrio Forel was easily the best teacher she had ever had. She was sure that whoever taught the boxing classes wouldn't measure up to him. She had considered continuing her fighting training when she got to King's Landing but she had contented herself to training by herself at the student gym in the early hours of the morning to avoid too many weird unwanted looks. Besides, she didn't want to put any roots down that she didn't have to in King's Landing. There was no point planting something she was just going to rip up in a few months anyway.

Even with all of that going through her head Arya still found herself snapping a picture of the flyer anyway.

XxX

King's Landing was nowhere near as cold as Winterfell was in the winter but it certainly was wetter. It seemed to rain every day for a week much to Arya's disgust. She didn't mind the rain but it was winter, it was supposed to be snow. She refused to carry around an umbrella and spent most of her classes dripping onto the floor and sulking.

Finally, the rain let up only to be replaced with a harsh and bitter wind that cut straight through Arya's worn leather jacket and mused her short hair into something resembling a bird's nest. She gave up trying to keep it under any sort of order and hoped that no word of it got back to her mother.

Her classes were proving to be just as mind-numbingly dull as last semester but Arya dutifully went to every class and would pinch her leg to keep herself from falling asleep. The only class that proved to be even remotely capable of holding her interest was her history lecture. It was the class that she shared with Aegon's friend Gendry and every time he caught her eye from across the room, he smirked like somehow his goading at her on New Year's was the reason she was there.

Stupid wanker.

Arya was surprised by how much she found herself missing the boys' company, she had gotten so used to seeing them every day over break. She was a bit disappointed when they all had dates on Valentine's Day because she found it to be a stupid over commercialized holiday but Arianne had told her a few days before she would need the room for most of the evening. Arya had been hoping to spend the night at the bar with the boys or at least on their couch watching bad B-list horror movies.

Instead, to her horror, she found herself sandwiched between Sansa and her annoying childhood best friend Jeyne Poole on Sansa's couch watching bad rom-coms and dodging Jeyne's tears over her recent breakup. Thankfully Sansa had provided chocolate and wine but once the wine had run out Arya didn't even wait for the movie credits to roll before calling her goodbyes, already halfway out the door. Jeyne seemed more than capable of keeping Sansa's resolution on track for the night; maybe her tears would inspire her not to bother with dating more than Arya's words ever could. They certainly gave Arya the sudden urge to never date anyone, ever.

The wind was still harsher than usual and Arya stuffed her hands deep into the pockets of her jacket and hunched her shoulders as she walked back to the dorms. Sometimes the leather jacket seemed impractical for King's Landing, it was either too warm or not warm enough, but Arya couldn't bear to wear anything else. Her father had given her the jacket for her sixteenth birthday, the jacket had once belonged to his sister Lyanna who he claimed wore it every day except in the summer. Arya had been touched but she had felt uneasy wearing the jacket until Jon had assured her that he didn't want it, even though it had been his mother's.

"It should go to someone who will wear it. That's what she would have wanted, I think." Jon had told her, his long face solemn as she showed him the jacket over FaceTime. Even though neither of them had met the woman Arya agreed with his words and she had worn the jacket nearly every day since then. The leather was faded and cracked in places but Arya still thought it was the best thing she had ever owned.

She had her head down in an attempt to block some of the wind so she almost didn't notice it when she reached her dorm. She let out a sigh of relief when she entered the building and her ears rang for a moment at the sudden silence without the roar of the wind in them. Arya was just about to swipe her student ID to get though the second door into the building proper when it was suddenly pushed open from the inside and Arya's brow wrinkled in confusion at the sight of four familiar faces.

"Arry!" Hot-Pie cried happily as he caught sight of her. "We were just coming to get you!"

"I told you that hair-tie on the door wasn't for her." Lommy said to Aegon as he bumped fists with Arya by leu of greeting.

"I knew that. Losing her V-card on V-day is too much of a cliché for Arya Stark." Aegon scoffed as he pulled Arya in for a tight hug. She could smell the beer on his breath as he hugged her.

"I thought you were all out on dates." Arya said in an effort to change the subject. She hoped that the boys would blame the redness on her cheeks to the wind and not Aegon's raunchy comments. She never should have told him she had never had sex; it had opened a door to far too many jokes and quips. Never again was she playing truth or dare with him.

"Terrible dates." Aegon groaned with a wry shake of his head as he looked down at her. "Terrible." he drawled the word long and sighed morosely as he threw an arm over the last member of their party. Gendry nodded in Arya's direction and didn't even flinch even when Aegon rested what had to be his whole weight on Gendry's massive frame. "Luckily Gendry here has offered us another form of entertainment for the evening. We were just coming to fetch you." his purple eyes twinkled at her as he spoke. "The hair-tie on the door threw us for a bit of a loop."

"Why didn't you just text me?" Arya asked, already pulling her phone out of the pocket of her joggers. She was suddenly very conscious of her outfit; an oversized University of Winterfell t-shirt that she had pilfered from Robb's closet years ago under one of Theon's old flannels and faded black joggers paired with her leather jacket and beat up trainers. Jeyne had taken one look at her when she had gotten to Sansa's and sniffed before saying she wished that she had the confidence to pull off 'grunge chic'. Sansa told Arya that Jeyne had meant it to be a compliment but Arya knew none of them believed that.

Arya often didn't give much thought to what she was wearing but the boys had all been on dates that evening and were dressed far nicer than they usually were. Aegon and Hot-Pie were wearing button downs while Lommy had on a nice blue sweater. Only Gendry looked like he hadn't been doing anything that evening with his dark wash jeans and faded KLU hoodie. Arya fidgeted with her necklace as she diverted her attention to her phone, only to find it had died while she was at Sansa's.

"We did! You never charge your phone!" Aegon said, clearly disgruntled.

"I'm going to buy you so many chargers for your next birthday." Hot-Pie said with a shake of his head.

Arya rolled her eyes at them as she sheepishly stuffed her phone back into her pocket. "What adventure were you planning on dragging me on?" she asked curiously. It was never boring when they dropped by her room unannounced.

"Gendry has been kind enough to invite us to his studio!" Aegon said as he finally let go of Gendry's neck and swayed unsteadily on his feet. Arya couldn't help but wonder if he was in this state because his date had been so terrible or if being in this state had made the date terrible. With Aegon, one never knew.

"I have a sculpture studio." Gendry explained seeing Arya's confused look. "Aegon's been bugging me to see it for ages and they cornered me at the bar tonight. I finally caved. Want to come with?"

"Well I seem to still be banished from my own room so I don't have anything better to do." Arya shrugged, causing Aegon to whoop in delight and he shoved past them to shoulder open the door and lead the way out into the night.

Gendry's beat up old jeep only had four seatbelts but Aegon and Arya were small enough that they managed to get the belt around both of them in the backseat. Arya had offered to make the drive without a seatbelt on but Gendry adamantly refused to move the car until they were all secured in. Lommy had laughed and called him a mom and Arya was a bit impressed that Gendry could cast a glare that was almost as fierce as hers. Poor Lommy had wilted under the weight of it.

She nodded her head along appreciatively to the old Goldcloaks song that blared from Gendry's speakers as they drove and she rolled her eyes at him when she caught him smirking at her in the rearview mirror. Aegon really needed to find less annoying friends. Although she supposed she was one of those annoying friends too.

Gendry lived a few miles away from campus in a tiny worn-down part of town the locals called Flea Bottom. Arya didn't often make it over there for her walks as she often walked away from Rhaeny's Hill instead of towards it. As they passed more interesting areas of town Arya made a mental note to her feet to start heading in this direction.

They came to a stop in front of a squat gray building that was so close to the buildings on either side of it that Arya was willing to bet she could stand between the buildings and place a palm flat on both of them. The building was set close to the sidewalk so there were only a few steps before they were at the door. To the left was an abandoned looking bar and to the right was an auto mechanic shop, its neon sign flickering in the dark.

The outside might not have been much to look at but as Arya curiously followed the boys inside the studio her eyes widened in surprise as Gendry flicked on the light. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the sudden glare and she looked around to study the space they were in.

The studio was roughly the size of the two-car garage they had at Winterfell and there was a small set of metal stairs leading up to a loft on the left side of the building. Arya could just spy a bed at the top and she started a little as she realized Gendry must live there too. She supposed it made sense, he had already told her he had to work hard to save up money for college, he wouldn't be trying to pay two rents when he could get away with one.

There were long metal shelves lining two of the walls with tools and sculptures spread out among them in seemingly organized chaos and heavy looking equipment lining another wall. Tall steel shelves filled up half the room, sculptures placed carefully over every inch of them. The rest of the floor space was taken up by a large metal sculpture.

When he had said he had a sculpture studio Arya had been picturing clay pots or weird marble statues. In truth, she had been so taken aback that Gendry sculpted at all, let alone had a full studio for it, she had spent most of the drive staring at his hands from the backseat and wondering how something so large could create art. Nothing she had pictured would have prepared her for this.

Arya found herself drawn to the large statue taking up half the space, surprised to find out when she reached it that it was not all one sculpture like she had thought but several small metalwork sculptures placed together to form a small world. There was a large castle at the center and several trees and houses on the outskirts. Arya spotted a few dragons in different modes of flight or fighting stance scattered around as well as knights standing guard on the edges.

Arya knelt down to get a closer look at one, impressed when she realized all of the metal looked to be scrap that had been melted down and reshaped to the fanciful shapes they now resided in.

She could hear the boys freaking out about some sculpture near the entrance so she started a little when she realized Gendry was standing next to her.

"It's beautiful." Arya breathed, her eyes roving over the piece hungrily. Every time her eyes passed over the creation, she noticed something new.

"Thanks." Gendry said and she could see him shuffling his feet awkwardly next to her. The air suddenly felt too heavy between them and Arya felt a desperate need to fill it.

"My sister would swoon over this." Arya admitted as she picked up a life-size metal rose off the floor and turned it over in her hands. She opened her mouth to say something else but let out a sudden hiss when her finger caught on a sharp edge. She looked down in surprise to see that there were small metal thorns on the stem of the rose in her hands. She found it surprisingly endearing that Gendry made such a beautiful object and still kept the sharp points.

"Are you okay?" Gendry asked bending down beside her and taking her hand in his. It was not lost on her how small her hand looked cradled in his. How he managed to make such delicate creations was a wonder to her. There was a bit of blood coming from the cut on her finger and he cursed when he saw it. "We should wash that. There's a sink back here."

Arya followed after him to a door wedged in the corner that she hadn't noticed before. He opened it to a small bathroom and Arya squished in next to him and placed the rose still in her hands on the counter as she washed the blood off her hand and Gendry shuffled through a first aid kit on the counter next to her.

"It's just a scratch." Arya said with an eye roll but Gendry merely glared at her as he turned to her with a Band-Aid.

"Placate me." he said with a sigh as he took her hand back into his.

Arya ignored the swoop in her chest as he did so. She looked up at him and couldn't help the smile that broke across her face at the sight of his brows knitted in concentration. Arya quickly reminded herself that she was not planting any more roots in King's Landing. She tore her eyes off of his face to look back at their intertwined hands before swallowing and instead turning her attention to the rose on the counter.

"You gave it thorns." Arya remarked as Gendry rubbed alcohol onto her finger.

"Course." Gendry agreed, not taking his eyes off the task at hand.

"Why?" Arya found herself asking, curious in spite of herself. Besides if he was talking, she could focus on that and she wouldn't be tempted to stare at the planes of his face.

"Just because something is beautiful doesn't mean it can't also be deadly." Gendry said, sparing her a glance that made Arya's breath catch in her throat.

"You know many deadly flowers, do you?" Arya asked, thankful that her voice didn't sound as breathless as she felt.

Gendry ignored her as he tore the wrapper off the bandage. "You said your sister would swoon at the sculptures." Arya nodded as he looked at her curiously for a moment before regarding the cut on her finger again. "What about you?" Gendry asked lightly as he wrapped the bandage carefully over the small cut.

Arya felt suddenly lightheaded at his closeness. She would almost rather she felt that way over the sight of blood than because of a boy. But Arya was no stranger to scrapes and bruises and she had never felt dizzy from the sight of blood before. She decided that the best course of action was to ignore the sudden pounding in her chest as she looked up at Gendry through her eyelashes. "I'm not the swooning type."

Gendry met her gaze with eyes bluer than the waters of the bay and Arya swallowed hard as his eyes roamed over her face. "No, I don't suppose you are."

XxX

They spent another few hours at the studio examining the creations of Gendry's imagination. Arya chiding him when she realized that despite his many animal sculptures, he didn't have any of wolves. She couldn't help but feel personally offended by this oversight. Wolves were her favorite animal so she didn't understand why Gendry would overlook the chance to make the coolest animal of all.

After a while he gave them a ride back to campus and she had him drop her off first even though the boys' house was closer. She wasn't entirely sure why but Arya had a feeling that her being alone with Gendry wasn't the best of ideas.

After biding her goodnights Arya went into the dorm hall happy to see that the doorknob to her room was hair-tie less. Arya went inside with a grateful sigh as she shed her jacket and rested it on the back of her desk chair.

She looked at her laptop and considered working on her transfer application essay before she caught sight of the clock on her desk and realized how late it was. Arianna's soft snores filled the room as Arya placed her phone on the charger and kicked off her shoes before crawling into bed.

The application wasn't due for a few more weeks, her essay could wait another night.


	2. Cast

_March_

There were only six days left until her application to the University of Winterfell was due when Arya came to the unwanted realization that she had made a mistake.

Several weeks ago when she had witnessed Sansa's extreme boredom now that she wasn't dating anyone, she had suggested that Sansa get a job. She had thought that a job would be a good way for her sister to get out of the house and help fill up her time until the year was over. What Arya hadn't been expecting was that the job would come with a cute brunette coworker.

Arya had gone to visit her sister at the coffeeshop where she now worked and while she had been busy checking out the work of local artists hanging for sale on the walls Arya had turned to ask her sister if they would be interested in showcasing other forms of art when she had caught the brunette checking her sister out. Arya's eyebrows had nearly disappeared into her hairline but when the girl caught her eye she only pretended like she wasn't doing anything. She didn't even blush which Arya found mildly impressive. She knew if she had caught Sansa checking someone out, she'd go as red as her hair.

As Arya had settled at a table with her drink and laptop a ball of guilt began to form in her stomach. Arya pushed away her black coffee and tried to tell herself that the clench in her gut was from drinking too dark of coffee on an empty stomach but even as she thought it, she knew that wasn't it. The feeling of guilt only grew as she watched Sansa and the girl laugh about something behind the counter.

It was Arya's idea that had placed Sansa into such close quarters with this girl. That meant, to her at least, that if Sansa ended up quitting her resolution to date this girl Arya was indirectly responsible at least a little bit. She'd promised to help Sansa this year, leading her straight into the arms of a pretty girl with a musical laugh was not Arya's idea of helping.

Arya looked over the top of her laptop as the girls started laughing again and cursed before downing the rest of her coffee. She tried to keep her cursing quiet as she realized what she was going to have to do.

She couldn't very well just leave for Winterfell in June and leave Sansa high and dry. Just because they weren't close didn't mean that Arya was heartless. She had honestly expected that Sansa would give up her resolution in the first few weeks, which was admittedly a little bitchy of her she realized now. But here she was over two months in, Arya couldn't just very well abandon her now when it was clear that she was really making an effort to see this through. Arya had made her a promise that she would help her keep this resolution, she wasn't the type of person who broke her word. This would be good for Sansa, she needed to be able to be happy alone if she ever expected to be happy with another person. Even though Arya had never been in a relationship she knew that much was true.

Arya was beginning to realize that her sister was tougher than any of them, especially her, gave her credit for but even she wouldn't be able to resist the pretty smile and charms of her coworker for a whole year, at least not alone. A girl only had so much willpower after all.

Letting out a long-suffering sigh that made the woman at the next table glance over at her curiously Arya switched to the tab her transfer application essay was on that had been open nonstop for months. Casting one last look at her sister Arya gritted her teeth and exited the page. She was just going to have to transfer at the end of the following semester. As much as it pained her Winterfell would have to wait until December.

Arya had already made it through six months in King's Landing. She could survive another ten. At least now she had more time to work on her application essay.

XxX

Since she had decided to stay in the capital for the foreseeable future Arya decided that she might as well try to enjoy her time there. She called the number on the picture of the boxing class flyer she had taken and was pleased to find out that they had one spot left which she quickly signed up for.

Being back in an environment where she could fight someone made Arya relax considerably. She had missed having an opponent to dodge and attack as well as leaving class with aches and pains that would turn into multicolored bruises later. Her instructor, Jaqen, seemed a little odd but he was a great teacher. Plus, he had pretty cool hair.

Arya found that the best way for her to accept the fact that she was in King's Landing for another ten months was to find ways to pass the time. So, when Jaqen told her they still had space in a kickboxing class she signed up for that one too. She threw herself into her studies in a way that she had never done before, and just in time as midterms rolled around.

She met up with Hot-Pie to study for their lab exam and soon a small study group formed with them and Aegon and Lommy all crammed into the boys' living room and groaning about who had harder classes. Some days they got more studying done than others.

One afternoon Arya had returned from class hoping to fall into bed for a quick nap before an evening of studying and she didn't bother to hide her groan when she saw the hair tie on her doorknob. She really wished Arianne would go to her partner's dorm sometimes. Grumbling to herself Arya left the dorm hall and was all set to go over to the boys' house when she realized Lommy was in class and the other two were working. Sighing Arya let her feet guide her on autopilot to her other favorite place to study.

The walk to the Acorn took her nearly thirty minutes but it was well worth it when she entered the café and the scent of freshly baked cinnamon bread filled her nose. Almost as good as that was the fact that there were barely any students inside the little café which meant that Arya could get a seat at a table near a wall charger which were impossible to find in the library or any of the cafes closer to campus.

Once she'd ordered her coffee and a slice of the bread Arya had settled in at one of the tables close to the wall and before too long, she had books and papers piled all around her. She would have felt bad taking up so much space anywhere else but here there were still five empty tables so it wasn't like she was stealing seats from anyone.

She was so absorbed in her work that Arya didn't even look up when the bell above the door rang signaling someone had just come inside. In fact, she was so lost in her work that it took a tap to her shoulder to get her to look up, which Arya did with a start, her brain swimming with the dates of Aegon the Conqueror's rebellion.

To her surprise it was Gendry who was looking down at her with a sheepish smile, a heavy looking backpack on his shoulders. She was surprised to see him for a moment since she rarely saw other students here until she remembered he was local to King's Landing. Gendry probably knew all the best places in the city.

"Care if I sit here?" Gendry asked, motioning to the seat across from her. Arya looked around at all of the empty tables in confusion. Why was he going to make her move her things when they were so many other places free to sit? "I need to charge my laptop." Gendry explained at her hesitation, motioning to the plug beside her. Another glance around the café proved all of the tables near the wall were full with people charging their electronic devices. Arya was surprised to see the café had gotten busier while she was studying.

Arya bit back a sigh as she nodded and pulled her books closer to one side of the table to give him room for his things. Gendry nodded at her in thanks as he sat down across from her. Arya was pleased to see he also had a slice of the cinnamon bread, it had to be the best part about the Acorn. For a moment Arya was scared that Gendry would want to start up a conversation with her but he just plugged in his laptop and went to work typing on it so Arya turned back to her book and let Aegon's rebellion consume her.

XxX

For the next week until midterms began Arya ran into Gendry at the Acorn every night. She found it was easier to just head straight there after boxing class as she was already on that side of the city and then she didn't have to go back to the dorms only to find she couldn't go inside her room and had to turn back to where she just was.

They never talked about meeting there, and Arya didn't go there under any intention of seeing him. She was usually there before he was anyway but he always seemed to show up right after her things had spread to taking over the whole table. After three nights of having to rearrange her things Arya started saving space for him, just in case. He always turned up.

Even though they were sitting across from each other, sometimes for hours on end, they didn't really speak to each other. Part of that was due to how intently they were studying and another part because of the headphones Arya had taken to wearing whenever she saw Gendry approaching the building. Sometimes she didn't even play music she just put them on so he wouldn't try to talk to her.

Despite sharing a table with him nightly Arya made a point to not sit beside him in class. Just because she was staying in King's Landing for longer than she had expected didn't mean she had to go and make any more friends. The less people she got close to the less people that got hurt when she left. Arya wasn't really sure if she was protecting their hearts anymore or hers.

Hot-Pie joined them a few times when he and Arya needed to study for their shared class. He tried to get the owners to tell him the recipe for their cinnamon bread but they wouldn't give it up. He brought them cookies to try to sweeten them to him but they still refused. They did offer him a job though.

Midterms and studying consumed Arya for days, and when that wasn't enough she lost herself at the House of Black and White. On the day that the transfer application to the University of Winterfell was due Arya pushed herself to the point of exhaustion and was so tired that she crashed on the boys' couch rather than walk all the way back to her dorm. She slept for ten hours rather than think about the fact that she had now signed her fate, she couldn't go back to Winterfell until December. She tried hard not to count the days she had left in this crowded city in her head.

XxX

Before too long Arya had memorized the shortest route from her boxing gym to the bar and her feet could lead her there on autopilot. She was going to meet up with her friends for drinks to celebrate the end of midterms. Arya felt like there were so many dates and vocabulary words crammed into her head she didn't know how there was room for anything else. How she was supposed to get through finals was a mystery to her that she had no intention of dwelling on at the moment.

She ran her fingers through her hair as she walked, she'd had it cut that morning and it was back to the short look she preferred. The last time she had her hair cut she had done it herself with her mother's scissors in one of the bathrooms in Winterfell. One of her dad's coworkers had told her he liked her long hair because it reminded him of royal ladies. She knew he had been drunk but when he reached over to touch one of her long locks Arya was overcome by the urge to rid herself of them. So she did. This time she let a professional cut her hair for her and Arya could definitely tell a difference in their skill level.

Shouldering open the door to the bar Arya was pleased to see that she was not the last or the first to arrive. Just what she preferred. Aegon waved to her from where he stood taking a table's order and Arya waved back as she headed to the bar where Hot-Pie sat. Gendry was sitting next to him nursing a beer and Lommy was yet to arrive.

Arya slid onto the stool beside Hot-Pie and signaled Davos to give her her usual drink.

"Nice hair." Gendry leaned around Hot-Pie to tell her. Arya raised her brows in surprise, she hadn't really expected anyone to notice the change.

"Thanks." she said as she accepted the beer Davos gave her with a smile of gratitude.

"You look pretty." Hot-Pie said as he looked at her. Arya tried not to roll her eyes at his tone of surprise.

"Shut up." she mumbled as she pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket. She found she couldn't look at either of the boys for the moment so she pulled up her messages and shot Sansa a quick DON'T GO DATE ANYONE message, in all caps of course. Sansa must have been celebrating the end of exams too, or at least using the break from studying to play on her phone because not even a minute later she sent her back the infamous gif of politician Lord Varys rolling his eyes at a press conference.

Arya snorted into her glass as she saved the picture to her meme folder.

"You know you could invite your boyfriend to join us." Gendry's voice caused Arya to look over at him, her brows drawn together in confusion.

"What?" she asked, certain that she had misheard him.

Gendry rolled his eyes at her and nodded towards her phone. "That's who your texting right?" he asked, his voice tight.

"It's my sister." Arya explained with a shake of her head. Her and Gendry didn't really talk so she didn't understand why was he being so weird all of a sudden.

"You've been texting Sansa a lot lately." Hot-Pie said, looking over at her with brown eyes filled with concern. His heart was too big for his own good. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine, I'm just helping her with something." Arya said with a shrug as she shoved her phone back into her jacket pocket. She didn't get why they were making this such a big deal. She could text whoever she wanted whenever she wanted. It wasn't any of their business.

"What are you helping her with?" Hot-Pie asked curiously. She didn't understand why he cared so much about Sansa, none of her friends had ever met her Arya had made sure of that. She didn't really want those two worlds to collide.

"Just this thing she's doing." Arya said, shifting uncomfortably as they kept looking at her curiously. She rolled her eyes at them before confessing, if only to get them to stop staring at her like that. "She's not dating at the moment and I'm reminding her not to change that."

"Why isn't she dating?" Gendry asked, making Arya glare at him. She had already told them enough as far as she was concerned.

"None of your business." she snapped, causing him to hold up his hands in mock defense. Thankfully they dropped the subject after that.

Several minutes later Hot-Pie stepped away to call Lommy and Arya was nearing the end of her drink when Gendry turned to look at her, toying with his empty glass.

"You can still invite your boyfriend if you want." he said quickly, the words coming out gruffer than they usually did.

Arya rolled her eyes at him. "I don't need your permission." she snapped before downing the rest of her drink. Why was he being so annoying tonight? "I don't have a boyfriend." she turned to glare at Gendry who had opened his mouth like he was going to say something but she cut him off. "If this is your way of trying to ask if you can invite your girlfriend just bloody do it already."

"I'm single." Gendry said before giving her a cheeky grin. "But if I wasn't, I wouldn't need your permission."

_April _

It had been raining so much and so hard that Arya was a bit surprised the whole city hadn't washed off into the bay by now. It seemed that from the moment April began the skies had opened up and let loose. Arya still flatly refused to use an umbrella and as such she was constantly damp and feeling as though she must look half drowned all of the time.

She wouldn't mind the rain so much if she didn't have to walk so far in it to reach her boxing classes. She found herself slowly but surely falling in love with the course, even if Jaqen did insist on calling her 'a girl' no matter how many times she reminded him her name was Arya. He told her that 'in the ring a girl has no name' and Arya had liked the sound of that so much that over time her teeth stopped gritting every time he called her 'girl'. She considered reminding him that she wasn't a girl, she was actually a woman but she didn't want to hear any quips about her size or any other weird man logic he presented her with.

She was the best student in the class by far. It helped that she was the only one with any previous fighting training but a large part of it was just that she was the angriest person there. She hadn't realized how pissed she was about her decision to stay in King's Landing another semester until she was provided with an outlet to let out her rage.

In her heart of hearts Arya knew that she was doing the right thing, her relationship with Sansa had always been a strained one but maybe by staying and helping her out Arya would be able to begin to mend some of it. Even if she wasn't sure why it had unraveled in the first place. She supposed it was because her and Sansa were the least alike out of any of their siblings and they were both too bloody proud and headstrong to talk to each other when they felt slighted. Plus, Sansa had been a right prat as a teenager, especially when she had been dating the walking pile of human waste that was Joffrey Baratheon.

Arya kept telling herself she was doing the right thing by staying an extra semester but every time one of her brothers texted her or she talked to her parents she was overcome by a rush of homesickness so strong it left her breathless. She was a bit scared she was going to rub Needle down to nothing with how often she was playing with it. She had taken to tugging on the bracelets Rickon had made her in an effort to not fiddle with Needle so much and one day the oldest of the bracelets had broken off in her hands. Arya had felt almost sick as she looked down at the worn threads in her palm and she'd tied the threadbare thing to her dorm key because she simply couldn't bear to throw it in the trash.

Midway through the month Arya was huddled at a table in the Acorn, ignoring her homework and staring forlornly at her phone. Theon had just texted her a picture of him crouched next to Nymeria and giving the camera a thumbs up. Arya tried to focus on the fact that Nymeria was looking at Theon with a look of boredom rather than the gleeful dopey smile she got around Arya but she still couldn't stop herself from slumping dejectedly in her chair. It was really beginning to sink into her what she had done by not submitting her transfer application. There would be no Nymeria until December, no being knocked over by her exuberance at seeing Arya, no wiping droll off her face from where she'd licked her. No dog pile as all of Nymeria's remaining littermates got excited to see her. No shoving Theon for saying what he was thinking before realizing how callous it was.

She was debating over what to text him back when her phone pinged again and she looked at it with halfhearted interest.

**Bran:** Nymeria only let him take a picture with her because he gave her food.

Arya snorted and couldn't help but smile affectionately at the phone. Even though he was thousands of miles away Bran still knew exactly what to say to make her feel better.

**Arya:** She takes after me that way.

Arya was about to text Theon a picture of her giving him the middle finger but just as she rose the phone to take the picture her phone went off again and she read the text with brows raised in interest.

**Sansa:** I need you to meet me at my place tonight.

**Arya:** Can't. I have plans.

Once she was done wallowing in self-pity and procrastinating her homework, she was going to the bar to school Lommy and Hot-Pie in pool. She let them play on a team against her and she still beat them every time. She would have thought that their playing skills would have improved by now but it seemed that they were both genetically destined to be terrible at the game. She might have stayed in the capital to help Sansa but that didn't mean she had to give up one of her favorite pastimes for her.

Her interest did pique when Sansa replied almost immediately.

**Sansa:** NOW

XxX

By the time Arya made it to Sansa's she was so thoroughly soaked she was certain that she would never be fully dry again. She couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at her sister for dragging her out, even though she would have gotten just as wet walking to the bar.

"What's so important that couldn't wait until tomorrow?" Arya asked as she pushed past Sansa into the apartment, peeling off her wet coat and throwing it over the back of one the bar stools. She was already dripping a puddle onto Sansa's floor as she turned around to face her sister who shut the door with a sharp snap as she turned around to face her.

"You've got to stop leaving me flowers." Sansa announced causing Arya to look up from the scarf Sansa was knitting to look at her curiously.

"What flowers?" she asked, dropping the scarf back onto the counter.

Sansa crossed her arms with an annoyed huff. Arya was a little impressed by the angry look on her sister's face. This was the first time she had ever seen any family resemblance between the two of them. "You don't have to play coy. I've already told you I intend to keep this resolution so you don't have to keep trying so hard."

Arya leaned back against the counter as she scanned the room for any of these offending flowers Sansa was talking about. She didn't see anything out of place but Sansa was still glaring at her like she had done something wrong. To say Arya's interest was piqued was an understatement. This was the most curious she'd been about her sister's life since she dated national boxing champion Sandor Clegane. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Who's been leaving you flowers?"

Apparently, Sansa had been certain Arya was behind it because at her question she all but deflated, running a hand through her hair dejectedly. "It hasn't been you?"

Arya shook her head as she noticed the bowl of fruit on the counter. Realizing she was suddenly starving she grabbed an apple and bit into it. "Nope. Have they been left here?" She asked around a mouthful of half chewed fruit as she looked around the room again, wondering why someone would leave flowers on the doorstep.

Sansa look bewildered as she shook her head and all but fell onto her couch. "At the coffeehouse. I thought it was you this whole time."

"When did it start?" Arya asked curiously as she came to sit in front of Sansa on the coffee table. She knew Sansa was feeling out of it when she didn't snap at her for sitting on her furniture.

"The end of February." Sansa sighed, leaning her head back against the couch cushions. "I thought it was you reminding me to get my head out of the clouds and not date."

"Why would you need another reminder?" Arya asked, biting the apple again, as a sudden thought occurred to her. She barely managed to keep her voice emotionless as she asked. "You're not quitting on me are you?"

"Of course not." Sansa snapped. Arya bit back a sigh of relief at that. She had stayed in King's Landing for Sansa after all. To say she would have been pissed that Sansa quit the resolution that was the very reason Arya hadn't submitted her transfer application just a month after the deadline was putting it mildly.

"It just seemed like something you would do. The timing of it seemed like too much of a coincidence to actually be someone who was interested in me." Sansa continued with a blush.

"Have you told anyone else about the resolution?" Arya asked curiously, juice from the apple dripping off her hand onto the carpet.

Sansa frowned at it as she shook her head. "Only you and I know."

Biting her lip Arya shifted uncomfortably, wincing slightly as Sansa rose her eyes to glare at her. "Don't we?" she asked, a sharp bite in her voice.

"Well..." Arya shrugged, suddenly finding the apple in her hands fascinating. She debated lying for a moment before deciding that would be worse. "You and I know. And so do some of my friends."

Sansa groaned and buried her face in her hands. "Who all knows?"

"Hot-Pie and Gendry. But they won't say anything to anyone! They don't even know you!" Arya said quickly, hoping that getting the words out fast would make it like ripping off a Band-Aid.

"Then why would you tell them?" Sansa snapped.

"They wondered why I kept texting you so much." Arya shrugged sheepishly as she bit into her apple again before she continued to speak around her mouthful of half chewed fruit. She could tell that Sansa was mad at her and it was making her feel bad which was a completely new feeling for her. She never used to care when Sansa was upset with her. The fact that she did now was making her uncomfortable. "I don't see why it's such a big deal."

"Because it's my private business!" Sansa cried as she rose to her feet and began to pace. "I don't want people knowing about the fact that I need a whole year of not dating anyone to try and better myself. I don't want people to know about how bad of taste I've had in the past to have to make this kind of resolution."

"I didn't tell them any of that!" Arya protested, even with her and Sansa's rocky relationship she would never have betrayed her trust that much. "No one cares about any of that!"

"I do!" Sansa cried, whirling back to face her. Arya jerked back in surprise at the wild-eyed look in Sansa's eyes. Sansa sighed and said, slightly calmer. "I care about that. It's why I wanted to do this in the first place."

Arya looked down at her feet, feeling a little bit guilty that her sister was so upset by what she had done. She knew that Hot-Pie and Gendry wouldn't go around gossiping about Sansa but she could see now why it would be upsetting to have something like that out in the open. She could feel Sansa's anger roiling off her like waves and she knew she needed to do something to deflate the situation fast, so she said the first thing that popped into her head. "What if one of your exes is sending the flowers?"

She could see her sister milling the thought over which made Arya's shoulders untense a little in relief. She didn't believe any of them were of course, she was pretty sure the cute barista was behind it, especially since they were being left at Sansa's work. But if Sansa hadn't come to that conclusion yet she wasn't going to steer her towards it. As Arya watched Sansa grapple with this thought she was surprised by the immense wave of relief washing over her before she realized what the cause of it was.

Sansa needed her help after all, in more than just text messages. Arya fought to keep down her grin as she realized that her staying and not transferring yet had been the right decision after all.

XxX

The rain finally began to let up as April passed its halfway mark. Arya was able to walk around again without feeling like she had to duck under every awning she saw just for a brief moment of not being dripped on.

This was good because it seemed that whoever Arianna was seeing at the moment things were getting pretty serious as every day that week when Arya returned to their dorm there was a hair-tie on the door. For once Arya didn't feel like milling around the streets of the city so she let her feet lead her on autopilot down the familiar way to Aegon's bar. It was Tuesday so Lommy was at a night class and Hot-Pie was working but hopefully the bar would be slow enough that Arya could talk to Aegon or maybe Davos would be behind the bar. He was always good for a conversation which was what Arya found herself craving all of a sudden. Probably because she'd spent an hour talking to her father that afternoon, not about anything of real importance just the new line up of the Direwolves and the mess Rickon had made when he decided he wanted to cook dinner for everyone. Arya fielded any questions he asked about her by turning the questions back to their family and her dad let her steer the conversation how she wanted it. Arya had never been very good at talking about herself.

The conversation had left Arya feeling rather homesick and with the urge to talk to someone else. To just fill the air with words that didn't mean anything but just getting to say them.

When she arrived at the bar she let out a sigh of disappointment to see the place was packed. Aegon gave her a wave as he dropped food off at a table and Arya headed for one of the few empty seats at the bar cursing when she realized Toliver was tending bar that night. He had hated her ever since she had argued with him that Barristan Selmy was a far more talented fighter than the Mountain had ever been. Back when he'd been at his prime fighters actually had to rely on talent not just size. Arya made sure to only order beers he had to serve her in a bottle that he opened in front of her when he worked just to be sure that he didn't spit in it.

Arya settled in with her beer and pulled her phone out to scroll mindlessly through Instagram while she waited for Aegon to be finished with work. It looked like it could be a while but Arya didn't have anything better to do than wait. Well she did have homework but seeing that her books were currently trapped in her dorm room that she was barred from entering Arya figured this was as good as the evening was going to get.

She looked up in halfhearted interest as someone slid onto the barstool next to her and was surprised to feel a bit of relief when she recognized Gendry who looked over at her with a small smile. She was surprised that her heart seemed to have sped up before she realized that she was just excited that now she might actually have someone to talk to while she ignored Toliver's glares.

Even though she shared a class with Gendry and during midterms they were studying together she had pulled back away from him the moment the test was over. She didn't need to be making any more friends here no matter how much longer she was going to be staying. But one conversation didn't mean they were friends. He was Aegon's friend not hers but that didn't mean she couldn't be friendly.

Gendry ordered his drink and as Toliver walked away he leaned his head closer to Arya's to whisper to her. "Who did you kill that's got him glaring daggers at you?"

Arya rolled her eyes at the man's back before turning to look at Gendry. "He can't take the fact that I'm right and refuses to see reason."

"Right about what?" Gendry asked after taking his drink from Toliver with a quick 'Cheers.'

"That Barristan Selmy is one of the best fighters Westeros has ever had." Arya said defensively, not bothering to lower her voice anymore. She smirked when she saw Toliver's back tense and she pulled her drink closer to her as if she was afraid that he would turn and take it away.

"There's people who don't know that?" Gendry asked, the genuine disbelief in his voice making Arya look back over at him in surprise. "That man is a legend." Gendry said tipping his drink against Arya's in a toast to the long-retired fighter.

Arya grinned at him, no one else she knew shared her love of boxing and martial arts so she rarely got to talk about it with people who understood. She didn't know if Gendry just had a basic liking of fighting or was invested in it like she was but Arya was desperate for conversation so she decided to go for it. "Have you heard of this new fighter over in Astapor?"

Gendry looked over at her with brows raised in appreciation. "Grey Worm?" Arya nodded in surprise, the man was making a quick raise in the underground fighting rings over there but he wasn't very mainstream yet, especially not in Westeros. Arya followed a lot of boxing blogs and she had seen some videos of his fights. She would kill to be in the same ring as him.

"I wouldn't want to face off with that guy. He might be little but he could do some serious damage." Gendry said.

Arya glared at him and didn't bother to hide the coldness in her voice. "Size isn't a guarantee of power."

Gendry looked over at her, clearly a bit taken aback by her tone. "No, it's not." Arya nodded, feeling vindicated but she let out her breath in a huff when he continued. "But statistically bigger fighters have more wins in this sport."

He had barely finished his sentence before Ayra cut him off. "Bigger fighters get tired more quickly and rely on brute strength. Smaller fighters are quicker and almost all more talented."

Gendry scoffed and started talking over her before Arya was through. By the time Aegon got off work nearly two hours later their debate had moved on from boxing to whether the First Men were better performers than the Goldcloaks, both of their drinks long forgotten as they leaned closer together to hear each other better over the noise of the people around them.

XxX

It seemed that the bar was as much a regular haunt for Gendry as it was for her because she started to run into him nearly every time she went there. When she didn't run into him at the bar she was sharing a table with him at the Acorn, even when all the other tables were empty. They always ended up talking to each other when they were both there so it didn't make much since not to sit together.

Most of the time they spent at the Acorn they spoke about coursework or studied in silence but they slowly began to start talking to each other about other things. Arya was both surprised and amused to find out that Gendry got especially chatty when he had caffeine. She was not surprised to learn that he was an only child, he seemed to be constantly amused by her stories about her siblings and would pester her until she would tell him one.

Their conversations slowly started to vary from boxing and current events to personal matters. She knew Gendry had lost his mother when he was a teenager and that he had no idea who his father was. She even told him about how Theon and Jon had come to live with them and be her brothers.

It was strange to her how easy Gendry was to talk to, Arya had never really liked to talk about herself but around Gendry it was different. Maybe it was because he never made her feel like she was being judged by what she said or maybe it was because he was a very attentive listener but Arya found that they never ran out of things to say to each other. Around him the words just seemed to flow out of her in a way they never did with anyone else. Even their silences felt full.

Gendry must have felt the same way because he told her about how he worked at the mechanic shop next door to his studio and that he had started there when he was too young to legally work. He'd lusted after renting the studio next door for three years before it was empty and he could actually afford it.

Easily one of the best parts about Gendry was that he could actually play a game of pool. He even managed to beat her once which caused half the people in the bar to offer to buy him drinks in celebration. Arya rolled her eyes at them but after so long of playing against lack luster opponents it actually felt good to have lost. It was nice to finally play against someone who challenged her.

One thing about Gendry's life that did surprise her was that she actually knew who his boss at the mechanic shop was. He was the lead guitarist in an underground band in King's Landing that Arya had become quite fond of. Gendry apparently was not a big fan of their music as he had groaned so loudly when Arya told him that she liked their stuff that Davos had looked over at him in concern.

"I cannot believe you actually like the Brotherhood Without Banners." Gendry said for the second time that week, leaning closer to talk to her as the patrons next to them cheered at something happening on the TV. Arya wasn't paying much attention to the game as she hated the Sunbursts. She was rooting for the Krackens based on the sheer fact that they weren't the Sunbursts.

"They're good!" Arya protested laughing when Gendry looked at her in disgust.

"Don't tell them that." Gendry said running a hand through his hair before sighing and placing his hand on the back of Arya's chair as he leaned closer to talk to her as everyone cheered again. "Have you seen them live?"

Arya shook her head, ignoring the fact that she could feel the tips of Gendry's fingers against her shoulder blade.

"They do some shows in the summer, I could take you to one if you want." Gendry said, his voice muffled as everyone let out a louder cheer than usual. Arya didn't answer as she was too busy cursing loudly as the Sunbursts scored the winning goal.

XxX

The next day when she got to class Arya wasn't surprised to see Gendry waving her over and beckoning to the open seat beside him. She debated for a moment pretending that she hadn't seen him or just walking the other way before she shook her head to herself. Those were cowards moves and if there was one thing Arya definitely wasn't it was a coward.

She sunk into the seat beside him and gave him a small smile in return to his wide grin. Arya slumped down in her seat dejectedly as she tried to hide the massive sigh threatening to expel from her body. It appeared that she wasn't going to be able to just call Gendry Ageon's friend anymore. No matter how hard Arya had tried to not make any friends in King's Landing she had gone and made herself another one.


	3. Melt

_May_

She wasn't quite sure how she had gotten roped into spending a weekend away with Sansa and Margaery but somehow she still found herself curled in the back of Margaery's yellow bug far too early in the morning and trying to ignore the conversation her and Sansa were having. Arya knew it was a good thing that she was with them, it was why she had decided to stay in King's Landing after all, to keep Sansa from falling for Margaery. Or at least from acting on it. Judging by the way the conversation was going she was going to have to step up her game from more than just texting and chaperoning.

In truth the real reason Arya had agreed to accompany them to the Rose Festival in Margaery's hometown was because Sansa had told her if she didn't want to go, she would just ask Jeyne to go with her. That got Arya to agree right away. She didn't know what it was about Jeyne Poole that she couldn't stand, everyone else seemed to like her well enough. She used to be far nastier to Arya when they were younger (Arya could still hear her taunting her and calling her 'Arya Horse-face' if she tried hard enough) but she had mellowed out with age. Jeyne just had her finger on the pulse point of all of Arya's insecurities and could make her feel like a small eight year-old trying desperately to fit in with the big kids with just a few words.

Arya didn't want her doing the same thing to Sansa.

Besides, Arya was the only one who knew the truth about what Sansa was doing and they had begun to spend more time together recently. Ever since she had told her about the flowers Arya found herself stopping by Sansa's while on her walks every few days. She was shocked to realize she didn't actually hate spending time with her sister anymore. It seemed age and time had done them both some good after all.

Not that she planned on telling anyone any of this of course.

Some things were best left unsaid.

The Rose Festival also came at the perfect time as Arya needed a bit of a distraction from her friends. They had all started to go a bit mad with party planning. Gendry's birthday was coming up on Thursday and after Aegon learned that he had never had a birthday party before he had decided to throw him a surprise party at their house, skipping out on their usual venue of the bar. Although considering most of the people he invited either worked at the bar or were regulars there it wasn't going to be much of a difference in anything but venue. Gendry seemed to have solidified himself in their little group of friends and Arya found she was more than a little annoyed that she couldn't think of him as just Aegon's friend anymore. Now she had to lay claim to him too.

She really didn't need any more friends here. Plus, now she had to buy him a birthday present. She was the worst gift giver; it was well known among their family that unless you told Arya exactly what to buy you, you had to hope she remembered to keep the receipt.

This weekend was the perfect excuse to get her out of party planning although Aegon did feel the need to include her in the group thread about it. Apparently, he thought she would have more knowledge on what Gendry would want than anyone else. She denied this until someone suggested that they serve vodka at the party. She didn't have the phone number saved so she wasn't sure who had made the suggestion but she wanted to suggest that they get kicked off the thread for that comment. Gendry hated clear alcohol more than he hated the Stags rugby team. She'd suffered through enough of his angry tirades during games at the bar about both of those things and really didn't feel like suffering through another rant at his party.

Arya spent most of the ride to Highgarden drifting in and out of sleep while ignoring texts about the party and the conversation in the seat in front of her. It didn't take her very long to realize that Sansa was in way over her head. Also, she was now ninety-nine percent certain Margaery was the one leaving Sansa the flowers at her work. When she mentioned something to do with being a botany major it took all Arya had not to knock Sansa upside the head.

She was now 100% certain Margaery was behind it.

Arya surveyed her from the back of the car and had to admit she was a far cry better than the goons Sansa usually dated. She crossed her arms and slumped further in her seat as she decided that she wouldn't give up Margaery's secret just yet.

The weekend passed in a blur of floral scented everything and more things shaped like flowers or printed with flowers than Arya would have originally thought possible. Arya was surprised to find that she really liked Margaery's brother Loras and his boyfriend Renly who bore a striking resemblance to Gendry. She did manage to keep Sansa in check which proved to be slightly more difficult than Arya originally thought it would, especially considering that the more she got to know Margaery the more she decided that she actually liked her. But to her surprise, Sansa was sticking strong to not dating to which Arya tried to hide her immense relief. She'd stayed here because of her sister after all, she would have been extremely mad if she had just gone and quit on her to put it lightly.

The weekend wasn't a total bust, Arya did get to see the legendry briar maze of Highgarden and she managed to find Gendry's birthday present. It was a small metal rose, not nearly as impressive as the one he had made. This one wasn't as cool either, it didn't have thorns. But Arya didn't know what else to buy him and it seemed like it might be up his alley so she took a shot. She didn't want to buy him alcohol like everyone else was bound to do. That would be a boring birthday.

XxX

Boxing became her solace, it was easily the best part of her day. Days where she had boxing classes were always better than the days that she didn't. Jaqen was impressed by how well she had taken to the class and it wasn't long before he was pulling her upfront to demonstrate fighting techniques. After class one day, shortly after she returned from Highgarden, she was getting ready to leave when he sat down beside her on one of the mats.

"A girl will be in the city this summer, yes?" he asked in his soft voice that always made Arya feel like he was hiding a secret. Or many secrets.

Arya paused in the process of lacing up her boots. She hadn't given summer much thought but it only took her a moment to nod in agreement. As much as she missed her family, she knew the same thing she had known at Christmas. If she returned to Winterfell that was the end. She was never leaving again.

"A girl will be in the gym's fighting showcase in July." Jaqen said with a sage nod before moving to stand. Arya looked up at him in shock.

"What?" she knew he liked her well enough and she fought well but the House of Black and White's summer fighting showcase was a big deal. This was not like the one they did last month for prospective parents to send their kids somewhere to teach them discipline or how to stand up for themselves. This was the one they put on for professional or want to be professional fighters to try to sway them into training at this gym. It brought them in serious clients and as such only the best of the best of their students and trainers were allowed to fight in it. This wasn't where the gym showed how anyone could be taught to fight, this was when the gym showed how anyone could be taught to _win._

Now standing, Jaqen stared down at Ayra who had to remind herself to close her mouth so she wasn't staring up at him like a fish. He seemed to sense the worries she was feeling for he gave her that small secretive smile of his before nodding his head slightly. "A girl is ready."

XxX

To say she was in great spirits by the time she reached Gendry's surprise party was putting it mildly. She'd missed the surprise part for boxing class but she didn't mind., she had never been much for jumping out at people. The party was in full swing by the time she arrived so she assumed the surprise had gone well. Aegon wrapped her in a hug before she was barely three feet inside the door.

"Arry you look radiant as always!" he kissed her cheek wetly before steering her towards the makeshift bar in the kitchen. The way Aegon doled out compliments used to catch her off guard but she had grown used to it, and somewhat fond, by now.

It was hard to hear anything over the loud music and people shouting to be heard over it but Arya waved at Lommy and Hot-Pie where they were scattered around the room. She passed Davos on her way into the kitchen and tutted, leaning closer to tell him as she passed, "I didn't think you existed outside of the bar."

His eyes twinkled as he called after her, "I could say the same to you."

Aegon offered to make her a drink but Arya refused, knowing all too well how overzealous he could get when mixing. She grabbed a beer instead, her eyes scanning the room for familiar faces.

"He's out back." Aegon whisper shouted into her ear causing Arya to look at him curiously.

"Who is?"

"The birthday boy." Aegon rolled his eyes at her, nodding at the back door. Arya opened her mouth to protest that she hadn't been looking for Gendry but at that moment a loud group of giggling girls entered the house, one calling out to Aegon in greeting. Arya recognized her as a waitress at the bar. She was friendly but the friends that were crowding around her like hens reminded Arya of Jeyne Poole so she decided to go where Aegon had beckoned. She had to give Gendry his stupid gift anyway.

After the heat of so many bodies packed together the crisp spring air felt refreshingly cool on Arya's skin as she stepped outside. Gendry looked over his shoulder at her curiously at the sound of the door closing, a half-smoked cigarette hanging from his mouth. Arya found herself watching in fascination as his lips curled into a smile at the sight of her.

"Was beginning to think you weren't going to make it." he said, taking the cigarette out of his mouth.

Arya rose her brows at him. "How'd you know I just hadn't been invited?"

Gendry laughed a little as he turned to face her, leaning back against the deck railing for support. "There's no vodka. With this lot there would be."

"Someone must have tipped them off." Arya said, walking over and hoisting herself up so that she was sitting on the railing beside him. Gendry offered her a fresh cigarette which she took with fingers that trembled slightly as she leaned in for him to light it. She hadn't realized she was that cold.

She was grateful Sansa wasn't there to reprimand her for smoking. Arya knew it was bad for her, especially for her fighting, but some nights she snuck a cigarette or two, especially on nights she was drinking. Whiskey and cigarettes were her favorite combination but she supposed a beer would have to do. That was until she noticed Gendry's half full drink sitting beside her on the railing. She could smell the whiskey faintly under the smell of cigarette smoke and before he could protest, she grabbed the glass and downed it before putting the cigarette back to her lips.

"Happy birthday." she exhaled on a cloud of smoke as she passed the now empty glass back to Gendry who rolled his eyes at her.

"Cheeky." he muttered but Arya could see he was smiling as he turned away to put the glass on his other side.

"I got you something." the cigarettes were making her voice sound breathy. Arya tried to hide her cringe at the sound of her own voice as she passed her beer to Gendry to hold while she dug in her pockets with one hand. He rose it to his lips to take a drink and it was Arya's turn to roll her eyes at him.

"Is it this beer?" he asked as he shifted closer to her to watch her hands curiously. His arm was now brushing her leg and Arya could feel the heat of it through her jeans like a burn. Her fingers curled around the metal rose in her pocket and she was a bit surprised it didn't melt in her hand she felt so warm from Gendry's slightest touch.

She shook her head, not trusting her voice at the moment with the way the smoke had left it all breathless. Instead she pulled her hand out of her pocket and offered the rose to Gendry, trading him back for her beer. She wondered belatedly if she should have wrapped it but it seemed dumb to buy paper for one gift.

Gendry stared at the rose in silence, twirling it over in his hands so carefully one would have thought it was made out of crystal instead of metal so thick it likely wouldn't dent if he dropped it.

"It's not as good as yours." Arya said in a rush when a minute passed and he still hadn't said anything. "I just saw it at the festival last weekend and I thought of you." The words are out of her mouth and in the atmosphere before she could think about how they might sound and she felt herself cringe at the implication in them. She wants to tack on a 'as a friend of course' but instead she put the cigarette between her lips and took a drag more to stop herself from talking and making things weirder than actually wanting the nicotine.

"You didn't have to do that." Gendry said softly finally taking his eyes off the rose to look over at her. Even with her sitting on the railing he still had to look down to meet her eyes. He'd moved again without her noticing and now his arm was resting against hers. In fact, the whole sides of their bodies were touching. Arya felt like she was roasting alive. It had been cold when she'd come out here, where had all this heat come from? Was it all from Gendry? She didn't understand why wasn't he pulling away from her, surely he could feel the heat too.

"It's great. Thanks Arya." Gendry said, his voice sounding like it had dropped an octave. A shiver ran up Arya's spine and she wondered how she could possibly be shivering when she was this warm. Gendry moved slightly, tilting his body more towards hers as he moved and Arya realized the shiver was because she'd never heard him say her name before.

Her leg moved almost of its own accord so that it was pressed harder against Gendry's side and before she could even begin to understand what was happening a swath of light suddenly illuminated the back porch. Arya blinked at the sudden brightness as Hot-Pie stumbled outside, letting out a gleeful cheer upon the sight of them. He pulled Arya into a tight hug, pulling her down from the railing and away from Gendry in the process and breaking whatever spell had just been over them.

_June_

She felt like she was standing on a balance beam like she had in the gymnastics classes her mother had signed her up for as a child. She hadn't cared for most of the sport but Arya had always loved the balance beam, loved the thrill of seeing what she could do on such a small space. She even loved the feeling of losing her balance, of that brief moment of clarity when she realized she wasn't going to be able to catch herself, that this time she was going to fall.

That was how she was feeling now.

Arya wasn't sure exactly what had happened between her and Gendry on the porch the night of his birthday but she decided that the best course of action was to ignore it, or better yet pretend it hadn't happened. It was just a little moment, people had moments all the time. Well Arya didn't, but Gendry surely did because he didn't bring it up with her either. This made Arya feel loads better, he probably hadn't even noticed anything or thought it any different from their other conversations.

They had spent the rest of the night hanging out together and sharing drinks and laughs with the rest of the party goers but there was more distance between them now. Arya felt like she could feel the space between them like a physical being. She had expected awkwardness when they saw each other in class next, once the effect of the alcohol had worn off, but there was none. Gendry had his bag on the chair beside him, saving her a seat was their usual now. When she'd slid into it, he'd shot her a grin that made her heart start to flutter.

Arya wasn't really sure what to do about that so it became another thing she chose to ignore.

The week leading up to finals Arya felt like she lived with her head shoved in a book. She read so much that the words began to bleed together and she fell asleep at the Acorn twice. Luckily Gendry had been studying with her both times so her things weren't stolen. She all but lived at the boys' house and the library with rare exceptions when she was at the Acorn or the gym. She had given up on her dorm room completely in the weeks leading up to the end of the year. She was just grateful she wasn't rooming with Arianna again next year, she hoped her next roommate was a bit more courteous.

Those thoughts always made Arya cringe at how much she sounded like her mother.

In the midst of all of the crazy stress of finals Arya did receive a spot of good news as she was walking from the gym to the Acorn, feeling exceptionally sore. The showcase was next month and approaching fast. She was training extra hard to not let Jaqen and the rest of the instructors down. The sound of her phone ringing pulled her thoughts away from the way her arms felt heavy like led and she smiled so wide her face hurt when she saw Jon's name on her screen.

"Finals kill you yet?" he said by way of greeting. He had a habit of doing this, of starting off a phone call with questions instead of a 'hello'. It was one of the things Arya loved most about him.

"Still breathing." Arya wondered if he could hear her smile through the phone. "For now."

Jon laughed, the sound as familiar to her as her own. "How many tests do you have left?"

"Just one." History, tomorrow. Arya couldn't quite believe that her first year of college was drawing to a close. It seemed she had just arrived in King's Landing. She tried not to think about the fact that she had arrived at the city with the full intention of leaving it around this time. The thought of leaving used to fill her with so much joy but now it gave her a weird feeling in her stomach like the time she ate a bunch of cotton candy and got on the tilt-awhirl. Robb still liked to tell the story of how she'd ruined his favorite shirt throwing up on him.

"I can't believe you've made it through your first year of school!" Jon said, his thoughts on the same track as Arya's as was common with them. "Theon owes me twenty bucks."

"He didn't think I'd make it through school?" Arya huffed although she wasn't that annoyed. She was used to the bets her older brothers liked to place on things, from important to mundane to weird. Theon often bet against her; she didn't think it was because he thought badly of her but because he was the only one who would do it.

"He didn't think you'd survive outside of Winterfell again." Jon admitted causing Arya to huff an indigent breath. She hated it when Theon was right about her, even if it was only a little right.

"Well I can."

"I know you can. I'd never bet against you." Jon's somber voice always had a way of calming her down. "To be honest I am a bit surprised you're not transferring. I figured one year in the heat would be enough for you. See the sights and what not."

"King's Landings not so bad." Arya found herself musing as the Acorn came into sight. She could see Gendry's jeep parked in front of it already, they were meeting up to study for their final in the morning.

Jon let out a surprised laugh, "Oh yeah? What's his name?"

Arya tore her eyes away from Gendry's jeep like she'd been hit. "Whose name?" she asked quickly her eyes scanning the streets like she was going to catch Jon watching her.

"I've never heard you say anything nice about the capital so something must have changed."

"Maybe I did." Arya said hotly. "Women can change for other reasons than because of a man you know." A young woman walking by overheard her and gave her a thumbs up as she walked past, barely looking up from her phone. Arya gave her one back as she rolled her eyes at Jon. Her starting to like King's Landing had nothing to do with a boy and everything to do with the life she was building for herself there.

"You're right. Sorry sorry." she could practically see Jon holding up his hands to calm her down. "Since you don't want to talk about your love life maybe you could tell me a bit about Sansa's?"

"What?" Ayra asked, stopping her pacing. Jon and her did not gossip about their siblings, especially who they were dating.

"She's been quiet about it lately, usually it's all she talks to me about." Jon admitted and Arya could hear the worry in his voice. It used to be a red flag if Sansa wasn't talking about her romantic partner, it meant something bad had happened. And not just a little fight bad.

Arya fidgeted uneasily. She had already betrayed Sansa's trust once, she didn't want to do it again but she also didn't want Jon to worry unnecessarily. He did enough of that already.

Sensing her hesitation Jon spoke again, "Never mind I shouldn't have asked. Maybe we should talk about your love life."

Gendry had just come out of the Acorn, raising a cigarette to his lips. He caught sight of her across the street and smiled, waving. Arya looked down at her feet, scuffing her worn sneakers against the pavement.

"I don't have a love life." she mumbled into the phone as she waved back to Gendry, gesturing at the phone in her ear. He nodded back at her and smoked his cigarette as he watched people milling around the street.

"Are you sure?" Jon asked and she could hear the smile in his voice. If there were any of her siblings Arya was going to talk about love lives with it was Jon but she didn't have anything to talk about so she didn't get why he wouldn't drop it. "I'm here if you ever need to talk." Jon continued in his soft older brother voice.

Arya got the sense he wasn't going to let this drop this time so Arya whispered a silent apology to her sister as she threw her under the bus yet again. She used to be so good at keeping secrets, when had that changed? "Sansa's not dating right now. For the whole year actually."

"Really?" Jon sounded as surprised as Arya had felt New Year's Day. Sansa not dating was a big thing. "Why not?"

"That's her business." Arya said stubbornly. She wasn't about to betray Sansa's trust that much.

"You're right." Jon said and Arya heard a woman's voice softly in the background speaking to him.

"Is that Ygritte?" Arya asked hopefully. She was Jon's girlfriend of over two years now and by far her favorite of any of her siblings' partners, ever. She was a bit surprised that she was still just Jon's girlfriend as Arya had helped him pick out an engagement ring a few weeks before she left for college. There'd been no sign of the ring since then.

"Yeah, she was just leaving." Aya's shoulders slumped, she was hoping that she would be able to talk to her. Jon wasn't done though, and he continued with a laugh barely hidden in his voice. "She told me to tell you that you should go for whoever it is you don't want to have a love life with."

Arya could feel Gendry's eyes on her as she swore at Jon, running her fingers through her short hair and looking anywhere but across the street as her cheeks flamed a vivid pink.

XxX

It turned out Jon hadn't just called her to tease her about her romantic or lack thereof prospects. He had a new system training in the capital and was going to be there in two days. It was short notice and he'd only be there for a week but he would have some free time to see his sisters while he was down there. Arya was so excited about seeing him that she was practically bouncing in her seat during her last final. Gendry kept shooting her curious glances as the test wore on.

Thankfully, Arya had a distraction after her exam was over to keep her from thinking about seeing Jon. She had decided to stay in the city for the summer early enough that she got a room in the summer housing dorm. She wasn't going to be couch surfing for the next few months after all. The best part about it was that it was a single.

No roommate, just her, for twelve whole weeks. Talk about bliss.

Arya had recruited Hot-Pie and Lommy to help her move her things. Gendry too because he was the only person she knew who had a car. Well him and Margaery but she didn't think she could ask her sister's crush/co-worker to help her move after meeting her twice. Aegon managed to get out of helping since he still had a final the next day and had to study. Arya got the feeling he'd rather help her move than study organic chemistry any longer.

Gendry still had another final left before he could help her so Arya bid him good luck and headed off to her dorm room alone. She still had a few more things left to pack and the others wouldn't be joining her for a few hours anyway. She took her time walking across campus, it was strange to think that when she had arrived there in September, she was sure that she would be leaving today. Now she had actually come to enjoy the city, to her immense surprise. It wasn't so bad after all.

Arianna was in the room when Arya got there, packing up her own belongings. Arya nodded at her by way of greeting, silently praying to the gods of roommate housing assignments that they were not somehow paired up again next year.

They packed their separate things in silence, the only sound between them the tinny sound of the music coming out of Arianna's headphones. Arya finished shoving the last of her clothes into her backpack and let out a grateful sigh, taking a look around her empty half of the room, the only thing in it her and her stuffed bags.

Arya flopped back on her stripped bed and stared up at the ceiling, wondering if she could squeeze in a nap before everyone got there. She was pulled from her thoughts as Arianna cleared her throat. Arya looked over at her curiously.

She shifted uncomfortably under Arya's gaze for a moment before staring back at her defiantly. "I just wanted to say thanks." Arya looked at her curiously, unsure of what Arianna was thanking her for. That must have been apparent on her face because Arianna rolled her eyes at her. "For being so understanding. I know I've been a shit roommate."

"Yeah." Arya said, leaving it up to Arianna to decide if she was agreeing with her statement or accepting her gratitude. In truth it was both.

"My dad is really strict, I'm not allowed out much. The freedom of college mad me go a little nuts." Arianna said, leaning back against her half-packed desk. Arya sat up to look at her.

"I get it." she shrugged as she said it. She did get it. Her mom used to be strict with her and Arya had to fight to win every little freedom. It's why she'd studied abroad in Braavos. After that her mom had calmed down considerably. "Just maybe next year, go to your partner's room sometimes too." If she got paired with Arianna again, she was going to apply for a room transfer but maybe she could do some good for the girl who came after her.

Arianna had the grace to blush before she laughed. "I'll do that."

She smiled at Arya and Arya found herself actually smiling back. She might not have been the best roommate but Arya was a little surprised to find she would miss her random song and dance parties and her fashion advice.

Arya was still grateful she didn't try to hug her though. They weren't on that level.

A loud knocking on the door drew their attention apart and Arya called that it was open. Gendry came in slowly, a happy smile on his face. Arya recognized the look. It was the same one she herself was wearing knowing that she had survived her first year of college.

"The others will be here any minute." Arya assured Gendry as she hopped to her feet and pointedly ignored Arianna mouthing behind Gendry 'He's cute.'

She introduced them quickly before grabbing one of her bags and motioning for Gendry to lead the way to his jeep. She was so excited to move into her own space that she was practically vibrating. Gendry laughed as he looked at her and grabbed another bag.

"I had to park pretty far away. Everyone else is moving out now too." Gendry warned her but Arya didn't care. If he wasn't there she would have had to carry all of her things across campus. At least this way she had a ride.

XxX

Hot-Pie and Lommy didn't show up until her old dorm was emptied and her and Gendry were pulling up to her new one. Arya had a feeling they had planned it that way. Thankfully Arya hadn't brought much stuff with her to school so it only took one trip with the four of them brining everything into her new place. Arya sighed with relief at the sight of her new room. Sure, it was half the size of her last one and roughly the size of the hall closet in Winterfell but for the next few weeks it was all hers.

She flopped down gratefully on the bed and grinned at the boys as they looked around the room curiously.

"Are all dorms this small?" Hot-Pie asked, peeking around the open door as if he expected more of the room to be hidden behind it.

"I don't care how small it is it doesn't come with a roommate!" Arya cried happily, propping herself up on her elbows to look at them. "Thanks for helping me."

"No problem." Lommy leaned against the doorframe and rushed out in a nervous breath. "Will you still cook for us this summer?"

Arya rolled her eyes and swung her legs off the bed as she sat up. "Of course. That way I don't have to use the dorm kitchen."

Hot-Pie and Lommy high fived and Arya rolled her eyes at them before looking across the small room and meeting Gendry's eye. He shook his head with a smile at the other two. It suddenly hit Arya how small the room felt with four people in it. Having Gendry among her things, even when they were packed among bags and boxes made her feel suddenly exposed. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing but it was a weird feeling. She wondered if that was how he felt the time she was in his studio. Like everything he was was out in the open and she could draw whatever conclusions she wanted from it. His studio had been far more personal than her packed up dorm room. She didn't know how he hadn't freaked out at having them all invade it.

Suddenly desperate to get them all out of her new space Arya jumped to her feet and shepherded them out the door with the promise of buying them drinks as a 'thank you' for their help.

XxX

Sleeping in her new bed without the sound of anyone else's breathing filling the room led to one of the best night's sleep in Arya's life. She woke up feeling rested and refreshed and added to the fact that she didn't have to join any of the students racing around to finish their exams left her feeling even better.

She headed to the gym and spent three hours dodging blows and kicks as they prepped for the showcase that was steadily approaching. Arya really hoped Jaqen knew what he was doing, she would hate it if she wasn't good enough for fighters to want to train there. She could tell how much she had improved, fighting against other people was always better than training by herself. She even managed to beat Jaqen himself once, although she was pretty sure he had let her win even if he had denied it when she accused him of such.

He finally had to kick Arya out of the gym telling her if she trained any harder she would be useless to him for the next few days as her body needed to recover. There were still a few hours until Jon would be in town and Arya needed a distraction so after she showered, she shouldered her bag and decided to go for a long walk, letting her feet go on auto-pilot.

Before she knew it, she was approaching the close together streets of Flea Bottom. It wasn't very far from the gym so it only took her three songs to get there. She bit her lip and hesitated a moment before deciding she really needed the distraction or she was going to be a mess by the time Jon finally got there so she walked the unfamiliar streets until the building she was looking for popped into view.

This time the mechanic shop next door was open, voices floating out the open door. Arya briefly wondered if Gendry was at work and if coming here was a mistake but they were friends. Surely, she was allowed to drop by? She'd been in the neighborhood after all.

She walked to the door of his studio and knocked lightly before wondering if she should knock louder. If he was in there and working he likely wouldn't have heard her over the sound of his equipment.

Arya shifted awkwardly as she knocked again, trying to pretend she couldn't feel the eyes of the people in the mechanic shop looking at her curiously. Since none of them were yelling that Gendry was at work she assumed he either had to be inside where he couldn't hear her or not at home. Another minute passed and she decided it was the later one. She was just turning to walk away when the door swung open.

"Arya. Hey." Gendry said, clearly surprised to see her. Arya tried to ignore the shiver that went up her spine at the sound of her name in his mouth. She swallowed hard at the sight of him and willed her cheeks not to flush. He was wearing jeans and a thin white tank-top that was clinging to him with sweat. The well-defined muscles of his arms were on full display and Arya was suddenly filled with the desire to reach out and touch them which she tamped down hastily.

"Hey. I was in the neighborhood and I'm trying to waste some time so I figured I'd stop by." Arya said in a rush trying not to flinch at how much her words sounded like a bad pickup line. They were the truth not a come on.

"Yeah come in." Gendry stood back so she could come inside and the first thing that hit Arya was the heat and smell of melted metal. That was when she noticed the thick gloves on Gendry's hands and the metal facemask he held in one hand. "I could use another pair of hands anyway. If you don't mind helping." he tacked on hastily.

"I don't mind." Arya shrugged letting him lead the way to the back of the studio. That would be the perfect distraction to help her pass the next few hours.

"Why are you wasting time?" Gendry asked her over his shoulder as he stopped in front of a shelf where another metal facemask sat. He picked it up and passed it to her, as well as a pair of the thick gloves like the ones on his hands. Arya dropped her gym bag against the wall and put the mask on, surprised by the weight of it on her head.

"Jon gets into town today." Arya said, her voice muffled by the mask as she pulled the gloves on. She flipped the mask up so she could look at Gendry not through the tinted face plate. "I'm waiting for him to text me."

"What are you guys going to do tonight?" Gendry asked curiously as he led her to the large sculpture he was working on. It was taller than even he was by half a foot and was made up of thick swirling lines of metal welded together. It was a much more abstract piece than the ones he normally made so Arya knew without him having to tell her that this was a commission piece. She was going to have to be extra careful not to mess something up.

"I figured I'd take him and Sansa to the bar for dinner." Arya said as she accepted the long piece of metal Gendry passed her. She didn't eat at the bar often but when she did the food was always good. Besides, she thought this would be a good way to slowly introduce them to some of her world.

"Do I get to meet Jon while he's here?" Gendry asked curiously.

"If you want to." Arya shrugged trying to ignore the flutter in her chest that he wanted to meet her family. She reminded herself he was her friend, he was just being friendly.

"What about the infamous Sansa? We live in the same city and yet none of us have ever met her. We're beginning to think she doesn't exist." Gendry said, looking over at her with his blue eyes twinkling.

Arya rolled her eyes back at him. Before she knew what she was saying the words popped out of her mouth. "Come to the bar tonight and meet them both."

"I can't." Gendry said, his face falling slightly. "I told Thoros I'd work on some cars tonight. I had to finish this piece today so he's letting me do my work tonight."

Arya chose to ignore the swoop of disappointment in her chest. It was just because he was her friend and she wanted her siblings to know she had them. She wondered if she thought the word 'friend' enough if it would start to lose its meaning. "Who is the piece for?" she asked curiously, deciding a subject change was the best course of action now that they both looked uncomfortable.

Gendry shrugged and looked up at the piece, Arya could see he was looking at it without his usual amount of pride. He wasn't a fan of abstract pieces. "Some rich lady who is going to put it in her foyer to show her friends how artistic and modern she is." Gendry rolled his eyes as he looked back at Arya. "It'll be rusting in a corner of her backyard by the end of the year. I'll probably find it the scrap yard not long after that."

"It's cool looking." Arya said, more to make him feel better than because she actually thought it.

Gendry snorted. "No, it's not."

Arya couldn't hide her own grin as she smiled back at him. "It's really not." she agreed causing him to laugh. It surprised her how much she enjoyed that sound. She flipped her mask back down over her face so she didn't have to look at him as he laughed.

The next few hours passed with Gendry instructing her to hold pieces in place and where to keep her hands so that the she wouldn't touch the hot metal as he welded the pieces to the sculpture. The more he put on it the less Arya liked the sculpture. She preferred his pieces that were actual shapes. She knew that Gendry did too but she also knew why he took the job on. For him, money was money. He still had three more years of school to pay for, he couldn't afford to have artistic integrity yet. Arya knew one day he would.

To finish the sculpture Arya had to stand on a ladder to hold the final piece of metal into place which Gendry teased her about to no end as he was still standing flat footed. Arya stuck her tongue out at him even though she knew he couldn't see it behind her mask.

Instead of watching the melting metal Arya kept her eyes trained on him wishing she could see the look of concentration on his face as he worked. She had seen him studying enough to know how his brow wrinkled when he was in deep thought and she wondered if it was doing that now.

After a few moments he turned off the machine in his hands and flipped his mask up. Arya did the same and took a grateful breath. It was so hot in there and wearing the mask only made it feel hotter. She turned her eyes back to Gendry and watched as he surveyed the piece before them before letting out a long-relieved sigh.

"It's finished." he announced, his eyes flicking up to her. Arya was startled to realize that with her on the ladder they were the same height for once. Gendry must have come to the same realization as she did for he sucked in a sharp breath that was the only sound in the room. It was so quiet that Arya could hear him breathing and she wondered if Gendry could hear her heart pounding in her chest. It would be so easy in that moment to lean across the space between them and press her lips against his.

Her hand twitched on the ladder as the thought occurred to her but before she could even ponder at where the thought came from her phone began to ring. Arya barely hid her sigh of relief as she stepped down off the ladder and tore the gloves off her hands to answer Jon's call.

XxX

She hugged Jon for so long she was certain that any passersby who saw them would have assumed that something terrible had happened. He lifted her off the ground in his exuberance at seeing her again and Arya tucked her head into the crook of his neck, breathing in that familiar scent of home. When he finally did put her down and release her his eyes immediately flickered to where Needle hung from her neck.

"You still have it." He said, his long features slowly swooping up into a smile.

"Course I do." Arya replied as she rose her hand to run her fingers down Needle's familiar worn surface.

Jon grinned at her as he took a seat on the steps leading up to Sansa's building. They had decided to just meet there as it would be easier for them all. Well Arya and Jon had decided, Arya hadn't actually told Sansa that he was coming as she had been strictly instructed not to disturb her during finals week unless it was an emergency. This wasn't an emergency so she decided it would just be a happy surprise.

They waited nearly an hour before Sansa got home but the time didn't feel that long. Conversation with Jon had always been so easy that it felt like breathing. The whole time they talked Arya found she almost kept mentioning her transfer application and how she had decided to postpone it before she remembered that she hadn't actually told Jon about wanting to transfer at all. As easy as it was to talk to him, she had never been able to bring herself to telling him about being rejected from UoW. It still stung as fresh for her as it had the days after it had just happened.

She was considering bringing it up right there on the steps when her sister's familiar form suddenly came into view and Arya stood up, pulling Jon up with her. After the hugging and admonishing Arya for not telling Sansa Jon was visiting they came to the unanimous decision to get something to eat and Arya told them that she knew the perfect place to take them too. Truthfully, she didn't think that Sansa would think much of the bar but she wanted to show it to Jon. After their last conversation she had been struck by the sudden urge to show him that she had made friends in King's Landing, that all of Theon's bets were unfounded even if Jon wasn't the one betting against her. She did have a life in this city even if it was one she hadn't meant to have.

The quickest way to get to the bar from Sansa's was a series of alleyways and side streets which Arya took them down with ease. She did catch the uneasy and curious looks on her siblings faces when she spared them a look over her shoulder. Arya couldn't help but roll her eyes at them as she turned back front. Then again, she had been a bit nervous the first time she had made this walk as well.

When they got to the bar Arya made the split-second decision to not sit in Aegon's section. As much as she wanted her siblings to see the bar and meet her friends, she could never be sure what words were going to come out of Aegon's mouth. It didn't matter because he ended up switching for their table anyway. Her fear proved itself very accurate early on as one of the first things Aegon did after approaching their table was ask if he needed to get another menu for her 'boy'.

Arya wanted to melt into a puddle at the very words. She knew that he was doing another one of his not so subtle references to Gendry. Ever since his birthday party Aegon had taken to giving her side-eyed looks whenever Gendry was around or whispering innuendos to her. Here in front of her siblings though? That was low.

If she was being honest with herself the thing that bothered her the most about all of Aegon's alluding to Gendry and her being an item was the fact that the more time she spent with Gendry the more she wanted those things to be true. And if Aegon could pick up on her blossoming feelings than surely Gendry could too.

This was all uncharted territory for her and as Arya spent the rest of the night avoiding Jon and Sansa's questions, she couldn't help but feel that she was lost at sea afloat.

XxX

After their dinner at the bar Jon wasn't able to get enough free time to come see them until two days later. Sansa was unable to get out of her shift early so she was going to join them later on. In the meantime, Arya decided that she would show him more of the city as she had come to learn it. She took him to the gym first where he met Jaqen. The two simply shook hands and stared at each other for a long moment before Jaqen walked off without another word. Jon looked to Arya for answers but she had simply shrugged. She didn't understand him either.

Next, she took him on a walk around the bayfront. The water was so blue it looked like it had been dyed. Jon decided he needed caffeine after that and despite his protests Arya did not take him into any of the cafes that they passed. Instead she dragged him grumbling six blocks until they reached the Acorn, promising that their coffee would be worth the wait. Arya shoved Jon through the door laughing and she all but fell into him as she caught sight of Gendry sitting at the table that she now thought of as her table since it was the only one she ever sat at. They hadn't seen each other since she helped him finish his sculpture and she fought hard to tamp down the blush that was threatening to engulf her as he looked up from the book he was reading and caught sight of her with a grin and a wave. Arya waved back half-heartedly as she followed Jon to the counter. He was so distracted with finally getting coffee that he had missed Gendry waving at her.

Arya knew that Gendry frequented the Acorn nearly as much as her but she hadn't honestly been expecting for him to be there. She thought that he would have had to work but his schedule was so sporadic and Thoros often let him work nights that sometimes Gendry would spend the day doing what he wanted and work nights when it was cooler in the summer. Arya ordered her coffee and two pieces of cinnamon bread as she worried at her lower lip. She didn't know if sitting with Gendry would be worse or not. She knew that Jon wouldn't bring up Aegon's 'boy' comment in front of Gendry but he would likely do so after they left. But she had told Gendry he could meet Jon and why should she turn her back on that? She wanted them to meet, they would probably get along really well. And just because Aegon had made up his mind that Arya and Gendry were going to date didn't mean anything. Aya was still trying to figure out her own feelings about Gendry plus she still had every intention of submitting her University of Winterfell application in September. She didn't want to start something with Gendry now just to end it in December. That wasn't fair to him and it wasn't fair to her.

But that wasn't her main priority right now, right now it was just where to sit. Arya juggled her dishes and took a deep breath before leading Jon over to Gendry's table, Jon following after her curiously.

She didn't make any move to sit down as she nodded between the two men. Just because they weren't going to sit there didn't mean she couldn't introduce them. "Jon this is my friend Gendry. Gendry this is my brother Jon." the two men shook hands and said friendly 'hellos' and Arya was hoping that Jon would be able to read her unspoken signal to go sit at another table so that she didn't have to be the one to do it but to her surprise he gestured to the empty chairs across from Gendry.

"You mind if we join you?" he asked, sitting down happily when Gendry nodded, pulling his coffee cup closer to him across the table. Arya tried to muffle her groan of disappointment as she sat down next to Jon and wished that she had decided to just not introduce the two of them even if it would have made things weirder.

"It's nice to be able to meet you. Arya talks about you all the time." Gendry said, leaning on his elbows on the table. Arya could practically hear her mother judging his table manners.

Jon nudged Arya's shoulder in comfort and Arya crossed her fingers under the table that he wouldn't say anything about how she had never mentioned Gendry. She had a feeling she wasn't going to be able to get away with that much longer. Her and Jon might not be the chatty type about other people but between Aegon's comment at the bar and Gendry's easy familiarity with her Arya had a feeling her and Jon were about to become the type of people who talked about others. Or at least about Gendry.

Arya took a large gulp of her coffee to avoid having to talk to either of them as she resisted the urge to bury her head in her hands and scream. Why couldn't she just figure out her feelings for Gendry in peace by herself? Why did other people keep having to butt their way into it? This was all turning out to be way too confusing for her. She didn't know why Sansa had bothered with relationships in the past. So far, all Arya could tell was that they were messy and complicated and involved way too much time being confused about whether the fluttering in your stomach was hunger pains or butterflies.

Arya looked up at that moment and met Gendry's eyes which were shining with happiness at her and Arya placed a palm flat on her stomach at the swoop.

Forget butterflies, she had a whole damn flock of birds in there.


	4. Solder

_July_

Training had all but taken over her life. She was spending entire days at the gym working on strength and stamina exercises and her footwork. She was definitely more nimble than the other fighters, two years of training with Syrio to be a water dancer had given her that. But the other fighters were all much bigger than her and Arya wanted to prove that she could beat them not just because she was faster than them but stronger too. It was a silly point of pride to be stuck on but she was stuck on it nonetheless.

The time she wasn't at the gym she spent hanging out with Sansa, letting her sister drag her all over the city to see some new place she wanted to visit or to movies Arya didn't really care about seeing. She met up with Aegon, Lommy and Hot-Pie a handful of times but never at the bar and only when she could be sure that Gendry was at work. She had yet to see him since the day he had met Jon at the Acorn. As she had sat there and watched the two of them talking Arya realized she could no longer deny the truth of her feelings for Gendry. She liked him as more than a friend.

That didn't mean she had to do anything about it though.

She was hoping by ignoring and avoiding him that the feelings would go away on their own and she would be able to just be his friend again. She could handle leaving friends behind when the next semester ended. She didn't want to have to go through some messy breakup that left both her and Gendry hurt and bitter towards each other. Why start something that came with a guaranteed expiration date?

All of this of course was assuming that Gendry even liked her back. Which he very well might not and Arya might be working herself into a tizzy for absolutely nothing. It wasn't like she could go and ask him though, what was she supposed to say if he said yes? 'Cool I like you too but we're not going to do anything about it?' It would be worse than if he said no. Although maybe that was what Arya needed, the brutal sting of rejection right in her face. Then Gendry would realize she had feelings for him, no matter how small and easily squished they were, and he might avoid her because he felt awkward.

Neither of those sounded like very good plans to Arya so instead she chose the coward's move and avoided Gendry like the plague.

Jaqen seemed to be able to tell that something was off with her because he kept making comments about slaying her demons. Apparently if she did that her fighting would improve. Arya told him she didn't have any demons and Jaqen had looked down his nose at her and rolled his eyes. It was such a normal gesture to see on him that Arya nearly fell backwards in shock.

"Everyone has demons girl." he had said before throwing a punch at her face that Arya only just managed to block. He was becoming fond of distracting her with conversation and then trying to hit her. He hadn't managed to make contact yet.

XxX

By the time the day of the demonstration arrived Arya was used to soaking in tubs of ice. It was actually nice, not just for her muscles but because summer had officially arrived and it was super hot outside. She'd taken to walking to the gym before the sun even rose, Jaqen had entrusted her with a key but she wasn't allowed to tell any of the other fighters about it. She would hang around at the gym either working out or helping with maintenance repairs or filing papers in the office until it was dark enough outside that she wouldn't melt walking home.

She still flinched in surprise every time she thought of her dorm room as home. She used to only think of Winterfell as that.

Arya wrapped her hands carefully as she sat on the makeshift benches next to the ring where she and the three other fighters asked to fight that day were situated. This was very different from the student showcase a few months back that Arya had helped out in. For that they only showed examples of fighting moves and techniques but they were all rehearsed and slowed down to a speed that the younger kids watching and more importantly their parents wouldn't feel was too dangerous. There was no real skill or challenge to it. It was like being in a live action YouTube tutorial.

Today would not be like that.

Today there would be six sets of very real fights all to show the various fighters slowly trickling in and finding seats across the ring from where Arya sat that this was the gym they should be training at. These were all fighters not yet under contract with some other gym or trainer. They were still in the underground rings or trying to get into them. Their dreams hadn't come true yet. Those were the fighters Jaqen wanted most. They left nothing out when they fought in the ring because they still had nothing to lose.

Of course, there were also a few established fighters who were growing tired of their current trainers. Maybe they had hit a stalemate and weren't winning anymore and felt like they had reached the end of their journey with their trainers. They wanted something new. Contracts ended after all and if you didn't mind paying a crap ton of money they could be breached too.

Arya looked up from wrapping her hands to catch sight of a massive familiar form slumping down in the front seat next to the ring and her eyebrows rose in surprise. Sandor 'the Hound' Clegane was well known on the national level for boxing, largely to his talent but also in part to the mysterious burn covering half his face and his very public rivalry with his brother and fellow boxer Gregor 'the Mountain' Clegane.

Arya hadn't realized he was in the market for a new trainer although it did make sense. His last season hadn't gone very well and he'd destroyed more than one ring in rage after a fight. She was a bit curious whether his trainer dropped him or Sandor had left on his own terms. Not that Arya was going to go over there and ask. She had met the man only once, nearly two years ago during the months he was dating her sister. Arya felt a sudden surge of gratitude she had not told Sansa about this.

"Damn Arry. You look ready to mess some people up!" A familiar voice behind her tore Arya's gaze away from Sandor Clegane and she stood up to accept the hug Aegon was offering her. She tried to hide her flinch of surprise when she noticed Gendry standing with Lommy and Hot-Pie. She had forgotten that she had invited him to this before she'd realized her true feelings.

She forced down the birds threatening to take flight in her stomach. Now was not the time.

"Break a leg." Hot-Pie said reaching over to high-five her. Arya tilted her head at him but before she could retort Lommy shoved Hot-Pie's shoulder roughly.

"She isn't going up on stage. You can say good luck here." he said with an eye roll that caused Arya to laugh.

"Oh yeah." Hot-Pie said sheepishly. "Good luck."

"We're gonna go grab seats. See you after!" Aegon said patting her on the back and leading the others away. There were only a few minutes left before the first fight started.

"Don't really break a leg up there." Gendry said softly as he lingered next to her. Arya turned her eyes to his wearily. She really hoped he wasn't going to ask her why she had been avoiding him. Maybe she would be lucky and he would choke it up to her being busy with training which wasn't a lie. But Gendry wasn't even looking at her he was focusing at something over his shoulder. Arya bit her lip unsure if she should say something or if that would make her feel more awkward when Gendry's blue gaze shifted back to hers.

She had almost managed to forget how intense his stare could be.

"Those guys don't stand a chance against you." Gendry said, his lips pulling up into a smile as he began to walk away from her. "You got this."

Arya sat back on the bench and focused on making sure the wraps between her fingers were tightly in place as she tried to calm her heartbeat back to normal. She had fights to win, the last thing she needed was birds fluttering about in her stomach. Did Gendry seriously not realize the effect he had on her?

XxX

To no one's surprise Arya won both of the fights she was in, getting away from the first one with only a handful of punches hit against her. She was much smaller than Rakharo but she was also much quicker so she wasn't that surprised she won that one. The second one was more challenging and Obara had landed a blow to the middle of her back that sent her falling against the edge of the ring. Unfortunately, she didn't hit the ropes but the pole holding up the corners. Thankfully none of her teeth got knocked loose but her nose took the brunt of the fall. It didn't feel broken but the amount of blood pouring from it did make it harder to breath. She still managed to win that fight although it did take a round longer than her first fight had.

Arya made certain not to watch anyone in the crowd as she fought. She would be too distracted trying to decide if the prospective fighters looked interested enough to train there. She didn't want this to be a bust for the House. She knew they needed more fighters. They were still a relatively new gym so they weren't as well known as the other boxing gyms in the area. They needed a champion fighter to bring more attention to them.

Arya really hoped the Hound signed up there.

Just when she thought the fights were over Jaqen surprised her by calling her back into the ring to face off against him. He had neglected to tell her he would be doing this, likely because he knew how nervous the thought would have made her. It was better that he sprung it on her like this. Arya slid under the ropes as she tamped down the nervous feeling in her belly. She might be able to dodge Jaqen's one on one hits but she had never beaten him in a full fight.

She stood across from him with her hands balled into fists and raised up on either side of her face like he had taught her as the bell for round one went off. For a long moment neither of them moved and that was when Arya realized he was going to make her make the first move. Arya tried to steady her breathing like Syrio had taught her as she moved her right arm as if she was going to throw a punch. Jaqen's focus went to that, his body shifting instinctively to block her when Arya threw her left arm out instead, hitting him square in the stomach. She moved to step back out of his reach but Jaqen had longer arms than her and he managed to catch her ribs on her retreat.

The rest of the fight blurred into one endless stream of punches and blows and dodges and blocks. In the end he did manage to beat her although Arya felt like she had put up a pretty good fight. Especially when one considered how much longer he had been fighting than her. Apparently Jaqen felt so too because he pulled her up off the mat to stand beside him as he addressed the crowd.

"This girl has been at my gym for only four months and already she can hold her own against me. Part of that is her sheer talent but without proper training talent can only get you so far. I offer all of you the chance to come and fight me in this ring today. If you can beat me this is not the gym for you." Jaqen said calmly, his accent stretching his words long. Arya looked over at him in surprise, he hadn't mentioned this plan to her. Judging by the surprised looks on the other fighters her they hadn't been told about it either.

Arya nodded to Jaqen before slipping out of the ring just as the Hound came into it. Arya didn't realize she was holding her breath as she watched them fight until she felt a familiar presence at her side. She was standing against the wall watching the fight and she didn't take her eyes off of it as Gendry whispered to her.

"You were amazing in there." Arya fought back a smile at his words. She knew she was a pretty decent fighter but she didn't think anyone had ever called her amazing before. "I can't believe I once thought you were a lady."

Arya whirled on him just as Jaqen landed a punch that sent the Hound sprawling against the ropes. "I told you not to call me that." she snapped, her ire fading as she noticed the twinkling in Gendry's eyes and his raised palms which he was clearly doing to placate her.

"Sorry sorry." he muttered looking not at all sorry. Arya rolled her eyes and turned back to the fight. The Hound was slipping out of the ropes now grumbling, she had a feeling she would be seeing him here again and her heart soared at the thought. It looked like the House would get their champion after all. Gendry leaned closer to her to whisper in her ear. "I have to admit it's weird to be scared of someone so tiny. You are positively deadly Arya Stark."

Arya hoped that if anyone noticed her blush they would contribute it to her being flushed from her fights and not from Gendry's words. A shiver of pleasure ran down her spine and Arya concentrated on watching Jaqen school another fighter wishing that she could tamp out her feelings for Gendry that easily.

XxX

Even with the demonstration over Arya still found herself spending the majority of her time at the gym. They had signed three new fighters from the demonstration already (the Hound included) and they had a handful more planning on signing up with Jaqen once their contracts ended or they figured out a way to terminate them. Arya still spent the majority of her time there either helping Jaqen with paperwork or leading the instructions of a few of the younger classes and the beginning self-defense class. That one was her favorite to teach.

Even with all the stuff she was doing helping out around the gym Arya was still surprised when Jaqen dropped a formal looking piece of paper in front of her and a thick envelope with her name on it one afternoon as she was helping him figure out a new training schedule for their new fighters and their current classes.

"What's this?" Arya asked curiously, looking at the paperwork.

"Fill it out. I don't want to pay a girl under the table anymore." Jaqen said as he sat down at his desk.

Arya opened her mouth to protest that he hadn't been paying her at all before she took another look at the envelope and opened it carefully. It was stuffed with cash. Arya looked up at Jaqen in surprise.

"You're offering me a job?" Arya asked, unsure. Jaqen didn't even look up from his computer as he responded.

"A girl already has a job. She just needs to fill out the paper and make it official."

Arya pressed her lips together to try to hide her wide smile as she picked up a pen and began to fill out the form.

XxX

Before Arya had realized her confusing true feelings for Gendry she had agreed to go to a concert with him for the Brotherhood Without Banners. She did enjoy their music and she liked concerts so she didn't see why she shouldn't go just because being around him made her feel all nervous and woozy. Besides, the boys would be there too. Arya was concerned that not showing up would be even more suspicious at this point.

At least now that she was officially working at the gym no one was able to give her any grief for her not spending more time with them. Unfortunately, now she felt even more confused. She hadn't considered it when she had accepted Jaqen's offer of a job but this was another thing she would have to give up in December when she left. The thought of going back to Winterfell wasn't filling her with nearly as much joy as it once did. She hadn't opened up her transfer application to work on it in weeks.

Arya shook the thoughts from her head as she neared the bar that the concert was taking place in. They were in Flea Bottom so Arya wasn't familiar with it but before she could feel nervous about going in and locating her friends the door opened and amid the sounds spilling out from the bar Gendry came outside too.

Swallowing hard Arya shoved her hands into the pockets of her shorts and longed for the comforting weight of her leather jacket. She missed having actual pockets she could fit her hands into instead of the joke half pockets of her shorts.

"Hey." she called, clearing her throat against how breathy her voice sounded as she approached Gendry and leaned against the wall of the bar next to him.

He looked up from the cigarette he was lighting to smile at her. He shook another cigarette out of the pack to offer it to her and Arya made sure their fingers didn't touch as she took it.

"You look..." Gendry trailed off as Arya tugged the lighter out of his hands and glared up at him.

"What?" she snapped, she hadn't gone to any special effort to dress for the night so she didn't get why Gendry was gaping at her like a fish.

"Great." Gendry said swallowing as he pulled his eyes off her legs to meet hers. "Great. You look great."

"Great." Arya said sarcastically as she took a drag off the cigarette. She shifted uneasily, feeling like he was still staring at her and tried to ignore the way her heart was picking up its pace.

"The others are here. They're inside." Gendry said gesturing unnecessarily to the bar behind them like Arya had suddenly lost track of where it was.

"Why are you being weird?" Arya asked, toying with the cigarette in her hands. Something was up with him and she didn't think it was because they hadn't seen each other much for a few weeks.

"I'm not." Gendry said defensively. Arya rose her brows at him and watched in amazement as a light blush crossed his face and he seemed to be concentrating very hard on keeping his eyes on her face. "I'm just not used to seeing you without your jacket on."

Arya looked up at him in surprise, partly because she was just thinking about her jacket and partly because he had just seen her at the boxing gym last week and her fighting clothes were way tighter than what she was wearing now.

"You're acting like a weirdo because I have on one less article of clothing?" Arya asked slowly as she wondered if she would ever understand men. Then she remembered how she had felt when she had seen Gendry in his studio last month and she shifted uncomfortably as she realized maybe she did understand what Gendry was going through after all. Still, she hadn't been nearly as speechless as he was acting. She suddenly felt the urge to kill the silence between them so she said the first thing that popped into her head. "Gods, I wonder what you'd be like if you ever saw me naked."

The words were out of her mouth and into the atmosphere before Arya could think them through. She forced herself to stare straight ahead and not meet Gendry's eyes as she took a nervous drag of her cigarette as she chastised herself. She might now know much about relationships but she did know that talking about being naked with a boy she liked was not how one kept distance between them.

Gendry cleared his throat and Arya wished that the ground would open up and swallow her whole. She casted around desperately for a subject change since it seemed she had made Gendry too uncomfortable to talk.

"Do you go to their concerts often?" she asked, daring to cast a glance at Gendry from the corner of her eye. To her surprise he wasn't leering at her. He was staring at his feet with a confused look on his face that Arya knew meant he was thinking.

"What?" he asked looking up at her, Arya quickly looked away and stared out across the dark parking lot. "No not really. Their music isn't really my thing. Honestly I'm a little surprised that you're into it."

"Why's that?" Arya asked curiously, finally trusting herself enough to look over at him and meet his eyes.

Gendry grinned at her as he dropped his cigarette into the ashtray beside him and ground it out. "I thought you actually had some taste."

Arya rolled her eyes and was tempted to tell him that he had just insulted himself but she felt like she had made enough of a fool of herself in front of Gendry for the night. Before she could say anything else a loud guitar riff came through the walls and Arya could hear the music inside pick up volume. She took a final drag of her cigarette and reached around Gendry to stub it out in the ashtray.

As she walked around Gendry to the door of the bar he pulled it open for her and she rolled her eyes at his whispered 'm'lady.' She sucked in a deep breath as he placed a hand against the middle of her back to steer her to the table where she could just see Aegon's shockingly blue hair through the crowd. She knew where she was going now so she didn't need Gendry to guide her but she didn't shake his hand off of her. When they reached the table and he pulled his hand slowly away Arya tried to ignore how much colder she suddenly felt without his touch.

_August_

Arya had never thought that she would miss summer snow until she lived a summer in King's Landing. It was so hot outside she was pretty sure she actually could fry an egg on the sidewalk. Not that she would want to eat it afterwards. Seemed like a pretty easy way to waste an egg.

It was so hot outside that the only thing Arya wanted to do was hang out indoors. With Jaqen insisting that now that she worked there she couldn't live at the gym she found herself spending a lot of time hanging out at Sansa's or at the boys' house or her dorm. She was startled to realize that she was beginning to think of King's Landing as home more and more often.

She had taken to opening up her transfer application, still unfinished, and staring at it with warring emotions. On the one hand she missed her family and Winterfell so much it felt like an ache inside of her. On the other hand, she was beginning to build a life in this city, despite her best intentions not too. She had things that she would miss if she left; she had friends here and a job, plus a really awesome gym with great teachers. She might be able to face off against the Hound one of these days. He was a nationally recognized fighter for Seven's sake, was she really about to give that up?

She also had Sansa who, too her immense surprise, Arya realized she would actually miss when she got back to Winterfell. If she went back.

Arya was slowly beginning to realize that she didn't have to live in Winterfell to go back there. She had been putting off going back to visit because she was so scared she would never come back to King's Landing but her own fear was the only thing keeping her from her family and her home. Arya was braver than that, she could face some homesickness. She didn't have to transfer to Winterfell just to see her family.

She had lived in Braavos for two years while going to high school and she had visited her family then. She didn't know what it was about King's Landing that made her so scared to leave it. Maybe it was because she hadn't ever planned on going there in the first place. But she was already a year in, there were only three left until she received her degree and then she could go wherever she wanted. Then she could go back to Winterfell and stay there. Never having to leave like her father. She could live there in the snow with her family, her pack, forever.

It was just three more years, that was only one more year than her time in Braavos. She could do that easily.

It wasn't like she didn't have enough things to occupy her time. She had school of course but also a great job at a great gym. She had Sansa and the relationship that they were slowly starting to build together. It had taken them eighteen years to even become this close who knew what would happen if she left and gave up on it? She had Lommy, Hot-Pie and Aegon who always entertained her and made her feel like one of them without question. Becoming friends with them was the easiest thing she had ever done and she hadn't even meant too.

She also had Gendry, if she was being honest with herself, and at this moment more than ever she needed to be honest. Arya knew that her feelings for him were rooted in more than just that of friendship. She hadn't been letting herself really consider it as an option because she was planning on leaving. If she stayed, she might be able to act on those feelings. Not that that was a deciding factor in her wanting to stay of course. Even if her and Gendry were never anything more than friends Arya knew that she wouldn't regret staying.

The more she thought about it the more she began to realize that she would regret leaving more than she would regret staying. Still, she wanted to be one hundred percent certain that when she deleted her UoW transfer application it was for good, that she wasn't just going to start a new one next semester.

Arya decided to give herself until the end of the month to come up with a final decision although she was pretty sure she had already made it.

XxX

Arya decided that since she was going to be staying in King's Landing for the foreseeable future there was no longer any point to avoiding her favorite haunts. As such she was back to spending nearly every night at the bar, debating with Davos over the best movies and books and hoping that Tolliver would quit or get fired so she didn't have to deal with him anymore.

As the summer wore on the temperatures only continued to rise to record breaking heats that had Arya more and more grateful to her short hair. She didn't know how people dealt with this heat with long hair.

One night Arya sat hunched over on the barstool griping with Davos about the heat and listening to him tell stories about Storm's End while Gendry rolled his eyes at them both.

"The heat really isn't that bad. Give it a few more summers and you won't even notice it anymore." he said taking a sip of his beer. Arya rolled her eyes at him as Davos went to take a drink order of a couple just sitting down at the other end of the bar.

"Easy for you to say. You grew up here." Arya sighed as she pulled out her phone and pulled up the picture Robb had sent her that morning. It was Grey Wind rolling around in the yard, a light dusting of snow lingering in the grass and standing out sharply against his dark fur. She slid the phone over to Gendry with a sigh. "This is where I grew up. Robb sent me that this morning."

Gendry picked up the phone, his eyebrows raising in surprise. "It really does snow in the summer up there?" he asked shaking his head as he passed the phone back to Arya who cast another wistful look at it before shoving it back into her pocket. She wasn't wavering on her decision to stay but pictures of home always made a harsh ball of longing form in her chest.

"You must miss it." Gendry asked softly when Arya didn't reply.

She flicked her gaze over to him and bit her lip as she nodded sharply. She missed Winterfell so badly it felt like a physical pain. She had felt homesick when she was in Braavos but nothing like this. She tried to keep the homesickness from leaking into her voice as she toyed with her glass. "I really do."

She caught a thoughtful look flickering across Gendry's face but she forgot about it as Davos walked back over to them, tossing a towel over his shoulder and rejoining their conversation.

XxX

Despite her best efforts to hang around the gym more once Jaqen officially hired her he decided that her working there and taking classes meant that she should be there less. If she wasn't working or training and Jaqen caught her hanging out there he always kicked her out. That was how Arya found herself laying on the floor of her dorm room one afternoon because it was the coolest place in the room. She had her laptop beside her on the floor as it was way too hot to have it touching her skin. She had just pulled up the transfer application to officially delete it, her mouse cursor hovering over the delete button, when a sharp rap on her door caught her attention.

Arya shut her laptop curiously, picking it up off the floor as she stood and depositing it on her desk on her way to the door. She stood on her tiptoes to look out the small peephole in the door, her eyes widening in surprise as she took in Gendry on the other side shifting awkwardly and looking down at his phone. This was the first time he had been by her room since he helped her move into it. Arya wondered for a moment if he had texted her or tried to call her before showing up before she remembered her phone had died earlier and she had yet to put it on the charger.

Arya opened the door and leaned against it curiously as Gendry smiled at her in relief. He must have not thought she was home.

"Are you busy right now?" he asked by way of greeting. Arya shook her head no as his smile got wider. "Great. I want to take you somewhere." he looked down suddenly and caught sight of her bare legs. She was wearing pajama shorts and they were far shorter than anything she would wear in public. She tried not to blush at Gendry's lingering stare before he tore his eyes up to look at her face.

"You might want to wear pants." he said uncomfortably causing Arya to huff in indignation.

"Stop being such a prude. They're just legs." Arya rolled her eyes as Gendry blushed even redder.

"It's not like that." Gendry insisted even as his ears reddened. "It's for your protection."

"Where exactly are you taking me?" Arya asked curiously.

"It's a surprise." Gendry said as he shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

Arya looked at him for a long moment before her curiosity won out over her desire to not wear pants in this weather. "Fine." she grumbled before shutting the door in his face.

After quickly changing her clothes (she did in fact put on pants) and shoving on her shoes Arya opened the door to find Gendry looking surprised that she actually opened the door again. She shut and locked the door behind her before turning to glare at Gendry.

"If I get heat stroke it's your fault."

"You won't." Gendry said with a smile as he led the way outside to his jeep.

Once inside Arya fiddled with the radio until she landed on a song that they both knew the words too. She turned the volume up louder and they both sang along as Gendry drove them to a part of town Arya wasn't familiar with. The buildings kept getting larger and they passed two malls on their way to wherever they were going. Arya tried to ignore how hot the sun felt on her jean clad legs. Gendry seemed to sense her discomfort and he turned the air on higher even though the windows were down.

They came to a stop fifteen minutes later at the side of a large concrete building. From this angle Arya couldn't see what it was. Gendry parked the car and then turned towards her. Arya pulled back a bit in surprise at first before she realized he was fishing something out of the backseat. He tossed a sweatshirt in her hands and Arya held it up with pinched fingers as she looked at him with raised brows. Already the car was heating up with the lack of air-conditioning.

"Did you miss the part where it is boiling outside?" she asked her voice dripping with disdain.

Gendry rolled his eyes as he hopped out of the car. "Trust me for once Arya."

Arya looked at the faded KLU sweatshirt he had passed her and sighed before her curiosity won over once again and she opened the door to hop out onto the pavement. She followed after Gendry to the front of the building, her eyes widening when she realized what the building was.

Gendry opened the large glass door for her and Arya walked past him and sighed in happiness as the coldness of the room hit her.

"I know it's nothing like what you have at home-" Gendry began slowly but Arya cut him off with a shake of her head as she stared through the glass wall behind the counter at the ice rink where a few skaters twirled on the ice.

"It's perfect." Arya breathed, taken aback by the gesture. She couldn't remember the last time someone had done something so nice for her. She turned to look at Gendry who had a pleased little smile on his face before he looked at the skates behind the counter and faltered a little.

"Just so you know I've never done this before. So, you know, I'm pretty much guaranteed to be terrible." he admitted, running a hand over the back of his neck as he looked at her sheepishly.

Arya felt a rush of warmth spread through her chest and unlike the heat of outside she didn't mind it at all. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."

XxX

Arya had forgotten how much she loved the feeling of ice gliding underneath her skates, the familiar burn in her legs as she pushed herself to go faster and faster around the rink. She was grateful for the sweatshirt Gendry had lent her even if it was much too big for her and she had to roll the sleeves up three times just to use her hands. It was nice to feel cold again, even with the sweatshirt on. It still smelled faintly of Gendry as well which Arya found she didn't mind.

There weren't very many other skaters out on the ice with them which was probably a good thing as Gendry truly was terrible. He had fallen so many times during the first hour that Arya had lost count. She kept expecting him to tell her that he had had enough and wanted to leave but to her surprise he got up every time and kept going. Arya took pity on him after his fifth fall and took his hands to help steady him, skating backwards to lead him across the ice. Trying to teach him how to skate was like teaching a baby deer to wear rollerblades. His legs kept falling out comically in a way that made Arya bite her lip more than once to keep from laughing out loud.

Thankfully Gendry was a good sport about it and he was able to laugh at himself and his many many falls. The longer they skated the more Arya began to realize how royally fucked she was when it came to her feelings for him. The feeling of his hands in hers and the smell of him from his sweatshirt were making her head spin. She didn't think she was going to be able to ignore these feelings for much longer, she just didn't know how to act on them. Gendry had done something so thoughtful by bringing her here. She didn't want to screw up their friendship by making a move on him when he didn't think about her like that.

As they skated the few people on the ice with them trickled out until it was just the two of them left. Arya left Gendry alone to fumble his way along as she did a few laps around the ice. She took pity on him when she realized he was all but stuck at a stop in center ice, having lost the momentum to move forward and not remembering how to move without something to push off of.

"Here." she said skating to a stop in front of him and offering him her hands. Gendry smiled and took them gratefully, his hands dwarfing hers. Arya began to skate backwards, pulling him along with her. They made it two feet before Gendry's skates slipped out from beneath him and he tripped, falling forward against her. He had let go of her hands and Arya gripped at his chest to keep him upright. He had wrapped his arms around her as he fell and somehow, he managed to get his skates underneath him and not bring them both crashing to the ice.

For a moment they stayed where they were, his arms around her waist and hers clutching his chest. Arya could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears as she slowly looked up at Gendry who smiled at her sheepishly.

"Sorry." he whispered, making no move to pull away from her. Arya wondered if he didn't feel steady yet, she knew she certainly didn't.

Arya swallowed and shook her head, her heartbeat racing at the closeness to Gendry. Was it her imagination or was his heart that she could feel underneath her hands beating just as fast?

"It's okay." she whispered, knowing that she should move away from him but unable to get her body to do so. Judging by the way his hand was currently pressing her closer against him Arya didn't think Gendry wanted her to move very much anyway. Her mind was going haywire trying to make sense of what was happening and she watched in surprise as his eyes flickered from her eyes to her mouth. Arya was just debating leaning forward and closing the distance between them when the sound of children shouting filled her ears.

Arya pulled away from Gendry slowly to look over her shoulder and survey a group of kids filling into the benches, balloons and party hats everywhere. Arya looked over at Gendry and found it suddenly hard to meet his eyes as she skated out of his reach and whispered. "We should get going. Skating around a child's birthday party is dangerous."

"Course. Wouldn't want to fall again." Gendry agreed, he didn't sound confused or rejected like Arya had expected. In fact, she rather thought that the tone in his voice was hopefulness.

XxX

Arya had expected the ride back to her dorm to be awkward but it wasn't. Instead her and Gendry sang along to the radio again, their sweaters abandoned in the backseat as Arya drummed along to the solo on the dashboard. Gendry pulled up to the curb in front of her dorm and Arya suddenly realized she didn't want him to go home yet.

"Do you want to come in and watch a movie?" she asked, turning to face him before she could think it through.

Gendry hesitated only a moment before he turned the jeep off. "Sure."

Arya led him into her dorm as her heart began to speed up again. She wondered if she would ever be able to be alone with Gendry without feeling like she had animals living in her stomach. Leading him into her dorm felt much more charged than when he had been here a few months ago.

Arya was suddenly very conscious of her unmade bed and pile of laundry in the corner. She quickly shoved it into the hamper and pulled the sheets up on her bed as Gendry shut the door behind them. Arya felt all the air suck out of the room as he did so and they looked at each other across the few feet of space that was her room's floor. She shifted awkwardly as she thought of something to say. She was only just now realizing that the only place there was to sit was her desk chair and the bed. This wasn't usually a problem as the only person to hang out in her dorm was her, if she wanted to see any of her friends or Sansa she went to their place. She was just now realizing Gendry would have to sit beside her on her bed to watch a movie. She felt sirens going off in her head at the thought although she didn't think that they were alerting her to anything bad.

Catching sight of the photos tucked into the frame of the mirror behind her door Gendry hesitated and even from where she stood Arya could see the curiosity on his face as he looked at each of them.

"Which one is Nymeria?" he asked suddenly, leaning closer to the photo to get a better look. Arya already knew what photo he was looking at. It was from the day they brought the puppies home and let them loose in the den for the kids to pick which pup they wanted. The dogs were all piled up in a heap chasing each other's tails and their own. The photo caught Nymeria as she jumped on Summer's back.

"That's her." Arya said, stepping closer to Gendry to point her out. She quickly pointed to each other dog and named them for him, her finger lingering on the photo as she showed him Lady.

"Bet they're a lot bigger now. Probably bigger than all these pups put together." Gendry said thoughtfully as he kept looking at the photos. Arya thought she would be uncomfortable with him looking at such a private part of her life but instead she was just curious. She wanted to know what he thought of the pictures and she watched his face as he looked at each one in turn. She couldn't help but smile when he laughed at the photo of her and Bran and Rickon from Halloween two years ago, their faces all painted to look like demented clowns. Their mother flinched at the sight of balloons for weeks after that. His gaze lingered on the photo of her and Sansa standing on either side of Robb's wife Jeyne on their wedding day. It was the only photo Arya had with Sansa on the mirror she just realized. She didn't have many photos with her sister and the only reason she had that one was because Jeyne had sent it to her shortly after she got to KLU when the wedding photos got printed.

"Is that the infamous Sansa?" Gendry asked curiously, pointing to the photo. Arya nodded as she waited for him to comment on how pretty she was or how little they looked alike as most people did when they saw proof of the two of them side by side. Gendry did neither, his eyes lingering on the photo for only a moment longer before they drifted on to the next.

"It's weird to see you in a dress." he admitted as he spotted another of the photos Jeyne had sent her. This one was her in the godsawful sand colored bridesmaid dress she'd worn only because it was for Robb's wedding and she would do anything for him. After the reception was over she jumped into the lake still wearing the dress much to her mother's immense embarrassment. Jeyne thought it was hilarious and cheered her on. It was the first time Arya saw what Robb did in her as she helped Arya back up onto the dock, not caring about the dirty lake water splashing onto the hem of her wedding gown.

In the photo Gendry was talking about Arya's dress was still dry and clean, although it was a bit rumpled by the bear hug Robb had her wrapped up in. That was her favorite photo with her older brother she had, neither were looking at the camera and Robb had a tearful grin on his face. The picture made it look much more of a touchy-feely moment than it truly was. Really, he was only hugging her like that because she had grabbed him the last shrimp cocktail.

"I hated that dress." Arya admitted. She was about to tell him about the dress's unfortunate end when her phone began to ring. It was still on the charger where she had left it when she had left for the rink with Gendry and she turned to ignore the call before she caught sight of Jon's name on the caller ID.

"Do you mind if I take this? Its Jon." Arya looked over her shoulder to ask Gendry. He shook his head no, she hadn't heard from Jon in a couple weeks as Gendry was well aware. Still she felt a wave of gratitude to him for not being annoyed with her. She pulled the phone off the charger and tapped her laptop with her finger as she walked past him to the door. "You can find something on Netflix. The password is Nymeria."

She was so excited to talk to Jon she barely heard Gendry call after her, "Tell him I said hi."

Arya shut the door behind her as she answered the phone right before it went to voicemail. "Hey!"

"Hey. I only have a few minutes. Things are crazy here." in the background Arya could hear several voice talking and overlapping. She thought she heard the distinct laugh of Jon's friend Tormund in the background.

"Crazy bad?" she asked curiously as she leaned against the doorframe. When Jon went radio silent on her she never knew if it was because work was hectic or because work had gone top secret.

"No just crazy." he went on to tell her about the new program they were implementing at the Wall where he was stationed and how half his crew didn't seem to be picking it up. She had enough time to tell him about the fight showcase before he told her that his time was up and he had to get back to work.

"I'll call you as soon as I have some free time I can actually stay awake for." Jon promised as he hung up.

Even with that brief conversation (less than three minutes according to her phone) Arya still felt better having heard his voice. She had a wide smile on her face as she went to open the door. Before her hand touched the doorknob it turned and Gendry suddenly stepped outside with a cloudy look on his face.

"What's wrong?" Arya asked in surprise, the smile slipping off her face.

"Nothing. I have to go to work." he said, shaking his head as he walked past her.

"What?" Arya asked in surprise. She knew he got called in late sometimes but usually he was just happy to make more money. He rarely got mad about it and when he did it was at himself because he'd been drinking and couldn't go in.

He shrugged and walked down the hallway without another word leaving Arya staring after him in confusion and irritation. She shook her head as she shoved her phone in her pocket and stepped back into her room. She was still trying to figure out what had sent Gendry into such a foul mood so quickly when she noticed her laptop sitting on her desk open to the last tab she had open when Gendry had interrupted her that morning.

From where she stood in the doorway Arya could still see the logo of the University of Winterfell glaring brightly at her.

"Shit."

XxX

By the time she made it outside of her building Gendry's jeep was long gone. Arya swore again, loudly, before starting off at a run in the direction of Flea Bottom. She didn't know that Gendry would be heading back home, she knew he hadn't actually been called in to work, but she had to start somewhere. Judging by the angry look on his face when he'd left she doubted he'd go to the bar. He'd told her before he didn't like to drink when he was mad, he liked to sculpt things and take his frustration out that way.

Her feet pounded down the pavement and she caught more than one person giving her startled looks as she sprinted by them but she barely even noticed them she was so focused on getting to Gendry's. The dark jeans on her legs began to stick to her like a second skin and her breath came in short pants as sweat pooled at her temple. It was way too hot to be running like this but Arya had to explain to Gendry what he had seen, that it wasn't what it looked like. She didn't know why it was so important for her to talk to him right that minute she just knew that every time she even thought about stopping her feet refused too and her legs kept eating up the sidewalk underneath them.

When she turned onto Gendry's street a sharp burst of relief went through her as she noticed his jeep parked in front of the curb of his building. She slumped against the metal doorframe before wincing as it burned her bare arm. Arya swayed on her feet as she pounded on the metal door of the building, trying to pretend that she couldn't feel the metal burning the skin of her knuckles with each rap.

Several minutes passed as Arya stood outside and pounded on the door. She was pretty sure if Gendry left her out there much longer than she was going to melt into a puddle on the ground. Fear was beginning to sink in that he wasn't gone but inside there and ignoring her and refusing to open the door when the door suddenly swung inward.

Gendry stood framed in the doorway and Arya nearly sighed with relief at both the sight of him and the feel of the cool air-conditioning wafting out through the open door. She was so focused on the feeling of the cool air on her flushed skin that she almost missed the glare in Gendry's eyes as he looked down at her. Was it just her overheated brain or was there a look of disappointment there too?

"It's not what you think." Arya finally managed to wrap her tongue around the reason she was even there. She was suddenly aware of how dry her throat was. What she would give for a glass of water. She didn't miss the eye roll Gendry gave her as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Really? Because it looks like you were planning on transferring to Winterfell and not telling any of us." Gendry snapped, the muscles in his arm taunt with tension as he hurled the words at her.

Arya winced at his tone and she was too hot and stressed to bother to hide it as she admitted, "I was. Originally." Gendry scoffed and shook his head, focusing his glare over Arya's shoulder at the empty street behind her. Arya couldn't help but feel annoyed that he was so mad that he wouldn't even look at her. She hadn't done anything wrong. She had run over here in dangerous heat to explain that to him and he was acting like she wasn't even there. "I'm not now. The application was open because I was going to delete it. You can believe me or not. I don't care."

Arya shook her head she turned away from Gendry, wincing at the way the street began to swim in her vision.

"You were going to delete it? Or you are?" Gendry asked softly from behind her. Arya closed her eyes so the street would stop with its spinning before she slowly turned around to face him.

"I am." she admitted, opening her eyes once she was certain the street would have stopped moving. To her relief Gendry's face was in focus and not swaying.

"Why?"

"Why what?" Arya asked breathlessly. Her throat felt like sandpaper.

"Why are you going to delete it? Why aren't you going to go home to Winterfell? You obviously miss it." To her surprise Gendry no longer sounded mad or bitter he just sounded sad and resigned like despite what Arya was saying she was still planning on leaving.

"I do miss it." Arya admitted softly as she shook her head before wincing as the world swam again. She needed to stop doing that. "But that doesn't mean I have to go back to it. I'm beginning to realize that for all the reasons I have to go back I have just as many reasons to stay here." It was her turn to keep her eyes focused over Gendry's shoulder, suddenly unable to look at him as she confessed this. Talking about her feelings always made her feel queasy and that combined with how hot she was feeling and she was about three seconds away from passing out. Arya had never fainted in her life but she was beginning to feel like if she didn't get some water in her or out of this heat she would in fact turn into the swooning type.

"Reasons like what?" Gendry asked, his voice trailing off on the last word. Arya slowly moved her gaze over to him to realize that he was peering at her in concern. He took a step closer to her and Arya didn't protest when he put his hand on her back to steer her inside. She sighed in relief as the air-conditioning hit her full force. "Did you walk here?" he asked as he led her away from the sculptures and to the stairs that led to the loft he lived on.

Arya shook her head before a wave of dizziness hit her and she clung onto the stair railing for dear life. "Ran." she admitted, pausing on the stairs until the world righted itself. Gendry swore under his breath as he helped her reach the top of the stairs and led her to sit on a plush armchair. As Arya settled into it she realized it was too big to be called a chair but too small to be called a couch. She was so busy wondering what she was supposed to call it that she didn't even notice Gendry walking away from her until he came back and pressed a large glass of water into her hands. Arya drank it greedily as he chastised her.

"Are you insane? Do you know how hot it is out there?" she could hear the worry hiding under the exasperation in his voice. It made Arya's already warm insides flush.

"I had to tell you what was going on." Arya explained as she drained the glass. Gendry took it from her and refilled it before Arya could even ask.

"Why didn't you call me? I would have picked up." Gendry sighed as he handed her the now full glass.

"You seemed too angry." Arya said between drinks rather than admitting that she hadn't even thought about calling him.

Gendry refilled her glass for a third time before he knelt in front of her. The water and the air-conditioning was making Arya feel better already although she was suddenly very tired.

"I'm not angry Arya. I'm hurt." Gendry confessed softly. Arya's brows knitted together at the emotion in his voice. "You didn't even tell any of us you wanted to leave."

Arya toyed with the empty glass in her hands, preferring to look at it rather than meet Gendry's eyes. "I didn't see the point." she admitted causing Gendry to huff in exasperation. Arya sucked in a deep gulp of air before she whispered the words that she had kept hidden from everyone, including herself, for over a year. "I didn't see the point in telling anyone because they might have rejected me again."

She didn't trust herself to look at Gendry, choosing instead to keep her eyes focused on the glass, so she nearly jumped in surprise when Gendry reached his hand up to place it on top of hers, stopping her from turning the glass in her hands. She looked up at him slowly, expecting to see him laughing at her or something but instead he was only looking at her with that unending concern. She could see the unasked questions in his eyes so Arya took a deep breath before she confessed to him her deepest secret.

"I applied to University of Winterfell last year. They rejected me. Storm's End did too." Arya added as an afterthought. That rejection didn't bother her nearly as much of UoW did. "King's Landing was my last choice. I only applied here because my guidance counselor told me I should. I'm only here because they are the only school that wanted me." by the time she finished talking her voice was barely more than a breath, her voice dropping lower in volume with every whispered word of her confession. Gendry's hand tightened on hers causing her to look up and meet his eyes again.

His eyes burned as hot as the blue of flames as he whispered to her. "Those other schools are idiots Arya." She scoffed and shook her head as he placed his other hand on hers and continued. "I'm serious Arya. Do you have any idea how amazing you are?"

She felt the skin of her face heating up and she didn't think that it had anything to do with the heat as she looked back over at Gendry. "I'm really not."

"You are." Gendry countered immediately, his hands twitching against hers.

Arya looked down at their clasped hands as she spoke. "I don't care if UoW wants me now or not. They had their chance." she flickered her gaze back to Gendry's as she declared her decision out loud for the first time. "I'm staying in King's Landing. I'm going to finish what I started."

A smile spread across Gendry's face as he looked up at her. "I like that idea."

XxX

She stayed at Gendry's for a couple more hours while her body temperature returned to normal. Gendry kept getting her water every time her glass got close to empty despite Arya's protests that she could do it herself. They did end up watching a movie after all. It seemed Arya's assumptions that two people could fit in the chair were correct because Gendry sat next to her as they watched an action movie on his laptop. The chair was big enough for both of them but their sides were still touching. Despite the heat coming off of Gendry's skin Arya didn't mind.

Once he deemed her well enough to go out in the heat again Gendry gave her a ride home. Arya was relieved that there didn't seem to be any more tension left between them. As she bid him goodnight Arya had the feeling that something had shifted between them. It was imperceptible but she could feel it like a charge in the air as she watched him drive off into the night.

Upstairs Arya entered her password into the laptop still sitting open on her desk. She didn't even hesitate as she pressed the 'delete application' button.

Winterfell had its chance to keep her. They had chosen to miss out on it. Winterfell would always be home to her but that didn't mean that she couldn't stretch her wings and explore as much of the world as she could. Besides, no one ever said that you only got one home in life. The world was a big place and despite her longing for the comforting familiarity of Winterfell Arya wanted to see it.

Maybe Arya wasn't meant to only have one pack, one home. Maybe she was meant to have several packs in several different places.

Maybe she was meant to have lots of homes.


	5. Flux

_September_

The more days that passed the more Arya felt like a weight was being lifted off of her chest. She found that she was even more relieved than she had expected at her decision to stay in King's Landing and she approached every aspect of her life with a new found exuberance. More than one person had noticed her sudden new amplified persona, the Hound had made several snide comments about her getting laid as he walked by her. She longed for the day when she got to be in the ring with him and could punch that scowl right off his face.

Class registration opened up the first week of September and Arya had taken her laptop with her to the boys' house, not surprised to find Gendry already there as well. He seemed to have been fully engulfed into their friend group by that point, not that Arya was complaining. Every time she was near him the birds in her stomach began to swoop and Arya feared if they got any larger she wouldn't be able to function around him. As it was, it was difficult for her to be around him and not imagine what might have happened at the ice rink if the birthday party hadn't shown up.

Arya had to physically shake her head to get those thoughts to leave as she sat on the floor in front of Gendry so that she could use the coffee table rather than balance her laptop on her knees like everyone else was doing as they searched for classes that they could all take together.

Arya was the only one still undeclared with a major so she was pretty open to sampling a little bit of what everyone else was taking as she fulfilled her general graduation requirements. As such she ended up only having to take one class alone and would be joining Hot-Pie for High Valyrian, Lommy and Aegon for statistics, and Gendry for economics. Her classes chosen and registered for Arya let out a sigh of relief and flopped backwards, wincing when her back hit Gendry's knees. She had forgotten he was behind her.

"Ow." Gendry complained dryly but Arya simply waved him off, too tired to bother moving away from him. She'd taught three classes that day and they'd used up the majority of her energy.

"Drinks now?" Aegon asked as he shut his laptop with a satisfying click. His question was met with a chorus of cheers and Arya moved off of Gendry's legs and accepted the hand he offered to help her up. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it or not, but she felt like he held on to her hand for a moment even after she had gotten to her feet.

XxX

Moving into her new dorm proved to be a little bit more difficult than her summer move because Gendry had to work and couldn't be there to be a taxi for her belongings. Arya did manage to rope Hot-Pie and Aegon into helping her so it only took two trips to get all of her belongings over. They were two very long trips as her new dorm was all the way across campus and everyone seemed fit to complain very loudly and let Arya know just how big of a favor they were doing her. Instead of goading them on Arya simply told them they could make it even longer and help her unpack at which point they both vanished.

She was in the middle of unpacking when someone cleared their throat in the open doorway and Arya looked up to see a girl only a little taller than she was with a wine-colored birthmark covering half of her face standing in the doorway. The girl looked almost sheepish as she waved at Arya.

"Hi. I'm Shireen. Your roommate?" she said it like it was a question even though Arya already knew her name from the emails they'd shared.

"Arya." she said before going back to folding her clothes. Or more accurately stuffing them into drawers. The girl seemed more soft spoken than Arianna had been and Arya really hoped that meant she wasn't in for a repeat of last year.

Shireen stepped inside shyly and deposited her bag on the empty bed. It was only then that Arya realized she maybe should have waited to pick a side until her roommate arrived.

"We can switch sides if you'd prefer." she offered quickly but Shireen shook her head as she sat down experimentally on the bed.

"This is fine." her next words were cut off by two men entering the room struggling to carry a mini fridge between them. It didn't look like it was the weight that was throwing them off but the fact that they were constantly bickering about which one had a better hold on it.

Shireen had emailed her a few days ago asking her what shared items she had so that they did not end up having two things in the room and Arya had been shocked by the number of things that were included on her list. The girl was very thorough it seemed. The only thing Arya had on her list was a microwave which always smelled faintly of burnt popcorn.

The thing that was surprising to Arya at the moment was not the presence of the fridge that she already knew Shireen had but the fact that she actually knew the men now in her room. She had met them during her chaperone trip to the Rose Festival, Margaery's brother and his beau.

"That's my uncle Renly and his boyfriend Loras." Shireen said softly pointing out each man in turn. They had deposited the fridge in the corner and turned to look at Arya curiously before their faces broke into near identical grins of delight upon recognizing her.

"You didn't say Arya Stark was your roommate!" Renly cried as he stepped forward to pull Arya into a slightly sweaty hug.

"I didn't know you knew each other." Shireen offered, sounding befuddled as Loras opted for nodding at Arya in acknowledgement rather than hugging her. She was grateful because she could feel Renly's sweat on her hands as it was and she discreetly wiped her hands down her jeans as she nodded back at Loras.

"Shireen where should I put this?" another familiar voice cut in and Arya looked at the doorway with her brows raised as Margaery stepped into the already cramped room holding a bulging duffle bag. Shireen nodded to the corner and Margaery set it down before looking around the room curiously, her smile widening as she saw Arya who waved at her in greeting.

"Arya! Are you Shireen's roommate? How fun!" Margaery said excitedly. Arya and Shireen made eye contact from across the room and Arya was relieved to see the same dismay she felt on her roommate's face. Just because Arya knew some of Shireen's people didn't mean they were automatically going to be best friends.

"How do you guys know each other?" Shireen asked curiously as she perched on the edge of her bed.

"I work with her sister." Margaery explained and Arya bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing at that understatement. Margaery had called her only a few months ago to probe for information on why Sansa wasn't dating, they were way more than just coworkers. Unfortunately, Arya caught Loras's eye as she was trying not to laugh and she could tell that he was doing the same thing. The sight of it was too much and while Arya was able to somewhat successfully hide her laugh as a cough Loras's was obvious for what it was. Everyone looked at him curiously as he blushed.

"Just remembered a funny video I saw earlier." he said clearing his throat.

Margaery rose her brows at him before touching Renly's arm to move him out the door. "Let's get the rest of the stuff."

Shireen followed after them with another curious look at Arya, who shrugged in response.

Alone in the room Loras turned to look at Arya with eyes eerily similar to Margaery's. "Real talk, when is your sister finally going to ask out my sister?"

Arya let out a startled laugh of surprise at his frankness. She should have known Margaery would be the type to share her love life problems with her siblings. If only Arya was comfortable enough going to hers for advice, she might be able to figure out what to do about Gendry.

"Probably next year." Arya admitted with a shrug as she went back to shoving clothes into the drawer. What she wanted to say was the stroke of midnight New Year's eve but she had a feeling Sansa wouldn't be too happy with her for doing that.

XxX

"So does Margaery come over often?" Sansa asked, clearly trying for a nonchalant tone and failing miserably. Arya looked up at her over the yarn she currently had threaded through her fingers as Sansa knitted yet another scarf. Every time Arya thought that her sister was done with her project of knitting everyone she knew scarves for Christmas gifts she thought of someone else to make one for. The navy blue one she was currently working on was for their neighbor's son, Hodor, and it was nearly twice as large as the other scarves she had made as the man was quite large himself.

Arya rolled her eyes as she answered, "She was only over the one time at move in."

Sansa nodded thoughtfully as her knitting needles clacked together in a soothing rhythm. "Does Shireen have people over a lot?"

"No, thank the Gods." Arya sighed in relief. She'd been living with Shireen for over a week now and was relieved to find that while the girl was friendly she was not overly chatting and she had yet to have anyone over to the dorm other than at move in and her uncle Renly stopping by twice to drag her away from her books and out for food. She was proving to be quite studious and the quiet was such a remarkable change from last year that Arya found herself confused with what to do with all the time she was no longer using to wander the streets of King's Landing while she was barred from her own room.

"That's good." Sansa remarked, seeming only half listening as she undid one of her stitches. Arya watched her sister curiously, her brow knit in concentration and wondered if she should broch the subject of Gendry to her.

They hadn't really talked about their trip to the ice rink or the mess that had followed with her transfer application. The more Arya thought about it the more she wondered if the ice rink had been a date or not. She didn't know if it was better to ask Gendry and risk being embarrassed if he said no or to just assume that of course it hadn't been a date. She was pretty sure she was going to wear Needle down to nothingness with how often she was playing with it these days.

Then there was the fact that they had sat next to each other in class without discussing it and that Gendry had taken to texting her several times a day. Arya found that she had gotten much better at keeping her phone charged since that had started.

She just didn't know was what any of it meant. Was she reading too much into it because of her own feelings or were these signs that he felt the same way about her as she did for him? Arya didn't know and she didn't know how to ask, or who to ask for advice.

She knew she could talk to Jon about it but every time she tried the words died in her throat, leaving her wheezing out some offhand comment about the weather. She supposed that she could ask Robb or Jeyne for advice as they were married and clearly knew how this whole dating/liking people thing went. But if she did that Arya knew that Jeyne would tell Robb and then Robb would tell everyone and before Arya knew it everyone who had ever met her would be asking her about Gendry. Hell, word would probably get back to him somehow which was the last thing Arya wanted. She wasn't about to ask her father for advice on something like this and her and her mother never really saw eye to eye so Arya expected matters of the heart would be no different. Bran and Rickon were too young to be any help with this and there was no way in Seven Hells she would ever ask Theon for dating advice, or any advice, ever again. The only time she had taken Theon's advice she had wound up running from the cops and having to hide under a bush for two hours in the pouring rain. And that was when she had asked him for help about a group project. She wasn't about to trust him with something as delicate as this.

That left Sansa.

This was something Arya wouldn't have even considered as a possibility before this year but now Sansa was the only logical choice and Arya was a little surprised she hadn't realized it right away. This time last year Arya had all but pretended her and her sister were still living in different cities except when she needed something. Now she was sitting holding yarn while her sister knitted and they listened to Rylona Rhee's new album and about to ask her for dating advice.

The words were right there on the tip of her tongue about what she should do about Gendry before Arya paused. Sansa wasn't dating this year, maybe it wasn't fair to be asking her for dating advice when she herself couldn't do anything about Margaery. Besides, Sansa was so close to the finish line Arya didn't want to do anything to jeopardize that. She bit back her sigh as she swallowed the words yet again, it seemed this was something she was just going to have to do on her own.

XxX

The scabs on her knuckles were bleeding again. They had bust open while she was teaching her self-defense class, she hadn't wrapped her hands well enough and she could feel the blood under the gauze.

They didn't hurt anymore; they were just a nuisance. Arya grumbled to herself as she wrapped fresh wraps around her fingers and hands. The bench next to her suddenly groaned in protest and Arya looked over curiously to see the Hound sitting beside her, pointedly ignoring her as he wrapped his own hands.

Arya had seen the fighting schedule in Jaqen's office earlier. He had a match coming up against his brother in a couple of weeks and he had been training like a madman ever since. Jaqen told her in his weird way that the Hound was spending more time there than anyone combined trying to come up with ways to best his brother.

"I'll fight you." Arya surprised herself by saying out of the blue. The Hound didn't even look over at her as he kept wrapping his knuckles. "If you ever want to practice against someone new."

The man didn't even look at her when he snorted. "Tiny thing like you? Beating you's not practice. Not even a warm up." he grunted.

Arya's blood began to boil as she curled her fingers into fists in her lap, no doubt breaking the skin of her knuckles even more. "Go up against me in the ring and find out." she snapped. She was so sick of men dismissing her because of her small stature.

The Hound stood up, still not looking at her. If Arya hadn't been glaring at his back as he walked by she likely would have missed it as he turned back to throw a punch at her head. As it was, she saw it coming and dodged it easily, aiming a kick at his thigh for good measure. She would have aimed for his knee but she hated the Mountain for his cheap fighting techniques and she wanted the Hound to go in at full strength so he could demolish him and knock him down a few pegs.

The man didn't flinch from her kick but he stared down at her for a long moment. Arya glared back at him defiantly.

"I don't hold back so that's the last fucking time you do." he growled before stalking off to the ring. Arya paused for a moment before she realized that he meant for her to follow him which she did with a bounce in her step she hoped no one else noticed.

XxX

"The fuck happened to your face?" Aegon asked as she came into the bar on the last night of the month, desperately wanting a drink and a game of pool. Arya knew what he was referring too, the three-inch bruise gracing her cheekbone which ranged in the color spectrum from deep violet to an ugly yellow. She hadn't been able to block one of Sandor's fists and he didn't believe in practicing at anything other than full power. The bruise on her face was not her worst one just the most visible.

It turned out that Sandor felt like he practiced better against her than some of the other trainers so she was spending five nights in the ring facing off against him and trying not to get her bones broken. She landed her fair amount of punches of course, and she was good at dodging most of his. She knew that was why Sandor was using her to practice against. He'd always been faster than his stronger brother and he was using Arya as a way to build that speed up even more. If he was going to win against Gregor it wasn't going to be because he punched harder, just faster. Arya was more than willing to help him do that but she told him she wasn't going to do it for free. She made him promise her ringside seats for the match before she would get back into the ring with him the second night.

"Work." Arya said with a shrug, causing more than one customer to glance at her curiously. Aegon simply shook his head at her and went back to taking drink orders of the table he was at.

"That looks like it hurts." Gendry said with a wince as Arya slid into the seat next to him at the bar. He reached up like he was going to touch her face but his fingers stopped just shy of touching the bruise, hovering in midair a hairsbreadth away from her face like he was unsure if he should touch her or not.

He cleared his throat and lowered his hand into his lap as Davos dropped a glass of whiskey in front of Arya who cheered him for picking her drink correctly. Usually she went with beer but lately after fighting the Hound she wanted something stronger.

"Fights going well I take it?" Gendry asked curiously causing Arya to laugh which quickly turned into a groan at the flare of pain at her ribcage.

"He fights like he wants to murder me. Like he wants to murder everything." Arya mused thoughtfully as she nursed her drink and hoped it would make the throbbing in her cheek lessen. Not that she regretted the fights of course. She was holding her own against a nationally ranked fighter a thing that she really wanted to brag to her siblings about but then she had to find a way to tell them it was against her sister's ex-boyfriend and that she was boxing. Robb would tell their parents and then Arya would have to hear about how dangerous boxing was and how they didn't pay for her to go to school so she could injure herself in a ring. Arya found it much easier to just brag to herself and her friends. And Shireen, who with each passing day Arya found wavering closer to friend territory.

"Maybe he does." Gendry said with a shrug to which Arya nodded and clinked her glass against his in a cheers. He wasn't wrong about that.

They spent several minutes drinking in companionable silence, both of their attention held by the rugby game on the television, Sunspears versus the Dragons. Both were good teams and Arya held no ill will towards either so she didn't really care who won. It made watching the game much more enjoyable.

Gendry called her attention away from it as he cleared his throat awkwardly and looked around to see if anyone was near them. It was a weeknight so the bar was fairly empty and Davos had stepped out for a smoke break, Aegon was sitting at a back booth wrapping silverware in napkins and no one else was at the bar. They were for all intents and purpose, alone.

"I've been thinking about what you said." Gendry began, fidgeting with his empty bottle nervously. "About having reasons to stay in King's Landing." Arya nodded as he paused, she remembered their conversation from when he discovered her transfer application. They hadn't talked about it since then and she had been waiting for him to bring it up. "I was just wondering what those reasons are." Gendry admitted in a rush.

Arya's brows shot up into her hairline and she downed the rest of her drink to buy herself some time. That was not what she had expected him to ask her, for some reason she had expected him to ask her about if she really had deleted her application. Today was the deadline, a fact that had not escaped her attention all day no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. She didn't regret her decision to stay, she knew she had made the right choice. Still, telling those reasons to Gendry felt a little personal but considering that she often seemed to end up telling Gendry her personal business there didn't seem much point to stop doing it now.

"I guess I just have too much here that I don't want to give up on." Arya admitted as she placed her glass back on the bar and curled her fingers together to stop herself from playing with it.

"Like what?" Gendry asked, his blue eyes wide and curious as he looked at her.

"Well," she said, shifting on the bar stool. She supposed she might as well be honest. She was honest with him about everything else in her life, well minus her feelings for him. "Like boxing and my job. My friends and even Sansa. I didn't want to just walk away from all that."

"You have me too." Gendry whispered causing Arya to look over at him. There was something in his voice that she had never heard before.

She swallowed nervously as she whispered back, matching his volume. "I already said friends."

Gendry paused for a moment, his eyes searching hers for something, she wasn't sure what, before he whispered, voice barely louder than a breath, "I don't mean as a friend."

Arya was pretty sure she could feel her heartbeat in her throat and she knew that Gendry had to be able to hear it as she replied, "How then?"

Gendry's hand brushed against hers on the bar top and Arya nearly jumped at the contact of his skin on hers. She flushed as she tried to pretend she hadn't flinched and she looked up at Gendry through her outgrown hair. He didn't seem amused by her jump at all, he just seemed uncharacteristically serious.

"However you want me."

Arya was pretty sure her heart had never beat this fast before in her life as she slowly moved her little finger so it brushed against Gendry's. He curled his pinkie around hers as she struggled to find the words she wanted to say. Before she could even understand what she was feeling a familiar blue blur passed her and Aegon pulled her and Gendry into a bear hug so tight their heads knocked together.

"That table just tipped me thirty-five percent! Next round is on me." Aegon cried happily as he finally released them.

"Aren't you still on the clock?" Davos asked, having reappeared behind the bar.

"The next round after I'm off is on me!" Aegon responded as he hurried back to the booth he was working in to finish up.

Arya looked at Gendry, the moment clearly broken, as she wondered what she was supposed to do with that comment. She could tell that the conversation was far from over between them. To her discontent the birds were back in her stomach and soaring with a vengeance. Gendry's blue eyes burned on her like flames for the rest of the night as their unspoken words hung heavy in the air between them.

_October_

For some reason knowing that Gendry seemed to like her as more than a friend made it even harder for Arya to broach crossing the line from friend to something more with him. She didn't think that he would reject her anymore but she did know that once something started between them they wouldn't be able to take it back. They would never be able to be just friends again. HIs friendship had become increasingly important to her over the months and if she was pressed to say who her best friend was she would answer Gendry without a moment's hesitation. If they crossed the friendship line into romance would that fact still stay the same? And what happened when they broke up? Would losing his friendship really be worth a relationship?

Arya didn't understand how anyone dated anyone ever. This was all far too confusing for her. She kept telling herself that it would be worth the risk but whenever she thought about asking Gendry on a date her palms got really sweaty and she got light headed. She was becoming increasingly distracted in the ring, against everyone but the Hound. One hit to her head was all it took for her to realize she couldn't think about anything in that ring with him expect where to hit him next.

She hadn't had a chance to speak to Gendry alone yet, which she wasn't sure was a blessing or not considering her conflicting emotions. She had been having a hard enough time convincing herself to ask him on a date when she wasn't sure if he liked her back but now that she was pretty sure that he did she was completely lost about what to do. They seemed to come to an unspoken mutual understanding that they didn't want to have this conversation where others could hear them so the bar and class were out. Arya was working increasingly long hours helping with Sandor's upcoming match and what little free time she had Gendry was working at either the shop or on his art.

Even though she was no longer returning home to find herself barred from her dorm room Arya still found herself taking hour long walks. More often than not her feet led her to Sansa's apartment where she constantly struggled with coming up with the words to ask her sister for dating advice. So far, all that had happened was Arya had watched far too many romantic comedies and helped Sansa knit another three scarves. There were bundles of scarves and yarn all over the apartment now, it looked a little like a craft store had exploded but somewhat neatly.

She even considered telling her sister about the Clegane brothers match coming up next weekend but she was worried that talking about exes would push her further into Margaery's waiting arms. She kept waiting for her sister to tell her that Margaery was leaving her the flowers that were still being left at her work but she didn't. Arya was beginning to suspect that Sansa might not even know. They didn't talk about either of their love lives but Arya found it slowly start to get easier to talk to her about everything else.

After the fourth time in one week where Arya failed to ask her sister for dating advice Arya kicked angrily at the curb as she walked home. The Clegane match was in two days and Arya had gotten two ring side tickets for her help in the training. She wouldn't be in the Hound's corner that night helping him out with Jaqen and the others but she could sit ring side and cheer him on. So far, she had yet to find someone to give that second ticket too. Sansa was out and Hot-Pie threw up at the sight of blood. Lommy was a pacifist and Aegon would never give up Saturday night tips for boxing. Unless Arya was going to scalp the ticket the night of there was really only one person in her life she could ask, or that she even wanted to ask.

Grumbling curse words to herself she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, relieved to see it still had half a charge. She kicked uselessly at a brick wall as the phone rang half hoping no one would pick up. Why hadn't she just texted him?

"Hey Arya." she could hear the sound of people talking and the hum of machinery behind Gendry's voice and she knew she was bothering him at work. His weird schedule was so hard to keep up with. Well, hopefully him being at work would make this conversation short and painless. Arya crossed her fingers in Lyanna's jacket for good luck and she tried to keep her nervousness from bleeding into her voice as she asked.

"What are you doing Saturday night?"

XxX

The match was held in a large arena across town and they had to park so far away that they could barely make out the stadium it was being held in. The Clegane brothers hadn't faced off against each other yet this season and Gregor had badly beaten Sandor in their last fight. Everyone was ready to see him retaliate. To say the match was a big deal was selling it short. It was all that had been talked about on the boxing blogs for weeks and it hadn't even happened yet.

The passes Jaqen had procured for her made it so that they didn't have to wait in line with everyone else and were simply waved through. The roar of the crowd around them as they made their way to their seats made it an easy excuse not to have a conversation. Truthfully, they hadn't really spoken much yet that night and Arya wasn't entirely sure if they were on a date or not. Yes, she had asked him to go with her and yes he had picked her up. They were also alone with no other friends with them. She didn't know if she should consider this a date though because she was worried that Gendry might not and she didn't want to do anything stupid.

"This is awesome." Gendry leaned down to whisper in her ear as they took their seats. Already the crowd was a dull roar. She nodded in response and tried to ignore the way his breath tickled her ear as they settled in and the announcer announced that the fight would start in ten minutes.

Arya suddenly grew annoyed with the birds in her stomach and her sweating palms. If she wanted to know if this was a date or not she just had to ask. What was the worst that could happen? He'd say no? She could laugh that off. Arya didn't know where this sudden fearfulness of her relationship with Gendry came from but she did not like it. She was braver than this, it was time to start acting like it. She wasn't about to let her feelings for some boy turn her into a sniveling mess.

"Thanks for coming with me." Arya leaned closer to Gendry to call into her ear. He grinned at her and shook his head, looking around him in wonder.

"Are you kidding? Thanks for taking me." The seats were small and the mess of bodies around them had them pressed closer together. Gendry's knee was resting against her leg. Arya shifted her leg closer to his as she nodded, resting her hands in her lap.

"Is this a date?" Arya finally forced the words out, leaning as close to Gendry as she could so that no one else could overhear in case she didn't get the answer she was hoping for. Just because she was being brave didn't mean she wanted to be embarrassed in front of spectators.

Gendry pulled back slightly to look her in the eye and Arya curled her fingers into her legs to stop her hands from shaking. She hoped he couldn't see the nerves in her gaze as she looked back at him.

"I thought so. I'd like it to be." Gendry confessed, the tips of his ears going red.

Arya couldn't stop the wide smile from breaking out across her face as she nodded and turned back to the ring. Even over the roar of the crowd as the Mountain came in Arya hoped Gendry could hear her, "Me too."

XxX

After an increasingly bloody and brutal fight that had Arya, and most of the crowd, up on its feet screaming in outrage, the Hound ended up winning. The Mountain landed more than a few hard punches; in fact their seats were close enough that Arya heard the crack as Sandor's nose broke. But the Hound was faster and Arya felt a little bubble of pride that she had helped him increase that speed. It was a close win but a win nonetheless. She cheered herself hoarse as his hand was thrust into the air declaring him the winner.

Gendry and her hung out ringside for a little while as the rest of the crowd filed out and headed to their cars. There was no way they were going to get out of that mess of traffic without waiting so they figured they might as well do their waiting inside.

"I can't believe you fight with that guy." Gendry said, shaking his head in amazement as he turned in his seat to look fully at her.

Arya shrugged modestly as she mimicked his pose. "Neither can I." she admitted, unable to hold back her grin.

"You're a badass, you know that?" Gendry asked causing Arya to blush at the fond amazement in his voice. She wasn't used to someone talking about her in such wonder.

"I have a bit of an idea." she agreed, laughing as Gendry rolled his eyes at her mostly fake modesty.

"A bit? Don't try to pretend like you couldn't kill me with your bare hands." Gendry grabbed her hand where it had rested on her knee and held it up as if to demonstrate his point.

"One hand." Arya admitted her voice catching on the last word as Gendry threaded his fingers through hers slowly, never taking his eyes off hers.

"Honestly you could probably kick my ass blindfolded." Gendry mused, shaking his head as he laughed at himself. Arya wanted to argue but she was too distracted by the fact that Gendry was holding her hand, besides she'd seen him trip over his own feet more than once. The boy was strong but she was way quicker and better coordinated.

"Yeah probably." Arya agreed causing both of them to laugh. She leaned back against her seat as she watched Gendry shake his head at her and wondered at how a date could feel so much like every other day did with him. Sitting there laughing with him she couldn't understand what it was she had been so afraid of.

Gendry was her friend first. No matter what became of this date she was never going to lose that.

XxX

When Gendry pulled into a parking spot outside of her dorm hall Arya was still bouncing in her seat with energy. She was way too hyped up from the boxing match and judging from the way Gendry was drumming on the steering wheel he was too.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" Arya suddenly asked, her fingers hovering over the button of her seatbelt. She just couldn't stand the idea of going into her room and trying to sleep right now. Gendry didn't hesitate before he turned the engine off.

"Are you going to show me where all the cool kids hang out?" Gendry asked as he followed Arya out of the car. She rolled her eyes at him as she fidgeted with Needle.

"How would I know?" she asked as he fell into step beside her and she started walking in the direction of the bay. She loved going to the waterfront at night, sometimes there were boats being loaded or unloaded and she loved the bright spot of chaos in the otherwise sleeping city.

"If anyone would know it'd be you. You're the coolest person I know." Gendry said, nudging her shoulder. Arya hoped it was dark enough that he couldn't see the smile that spread across her face at his words.

While usually content to walk in silence Arya was still too energized from the match and Gendry's presence to be quiet. Her hand brushed against Gendry's as they walked and when he slipped his hand into hers, she intertwined their fingers, "Tell me something I don't know about you."

"Like what?" Gendry asked, turning his head to look at her curiously.

Arya shrugged, "Anything. No explanation necessary just the facts." She didn't know how to say she wanted to know everything there was to know about Gendry. Besides, she thought that might be a little too heavy to admit on a first date. Or was it their second? She really should ask him about the ice rink one day.

"One time I forgot how to use a fork." Gendry confessed as Arya stumbled to a stop with a startled laugh.

"What? How?" she couldn't stop herself from asking and she let Gendry pull her back into walking as she tried to imagine any reason one could forget how to use such a simple utensil.

"You said no explanation necessary!" Gendry reminded her with a grin before nudging her shoulder again. "Your turn."

Arya's brow wrinkled in concentration as she tried to think of something to tell him. She'd already shared one of her biggest secrets with Gendry so telling him something else didn't seem very hard. But she wanted to keep this light and not get into any big confessionals tonight.

"The only time I've been fishing we almost got sucked out to sea." Arya could see Gendry's brows raise in curiosity and she knew that she would probably have to tell him the whole story one day. Which she would happily do for the story about the fork.

"I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was fifteen." Gendry said as they turned onto the street bordering the bay. There were no ships being worked on and the only sound was their footsteps and the water lapping against the docks.

"I'm not into the whole superhero franchise." Arya admitted as they wandered closer to the dark water. She had always thought that the water at night was so eerily peaceful.

"I'm terrified of clowns." Gendry confided keeping his voice soft like he was afraid a stray clown might jump out of the darkness at him. Arya tightened her grip on his hand in reassurance.

"I only ate foods that were red for seven months." Arya said as she tugged Gendry after her down one of the docks. All of the boats tied up to it bobbed in a comforting rhythm and they both fell silent as they reached the end of the dock.

"I really want to kiss you." Gendry whispered, causing Arya to look over at him in surprise. They were far enough from the dock lights that she could only just make out his features in the moonlight.

Arya bit her lip as her heart began to speed up and she ran her thumb across his hand lightly as she confessed, "I really want to kiss you too."

Gendry slowly let go of her hand and Arya felt a brief pang of remorse that he was no longer touching her before he slowly raised his hands to cup either side of her face. Reminding herself to be brave Arya took a small step closer to him and she felt the toes of her boots bump against his shoes. Gendry was cradling her face with gentle fingers and looking down at her like she was the most precious thing he had ever seen. No one had ever held her like this before, like she was some magnificent mystery that he desperately wanted to learn.

Arya rose her shaking hands to rest on Gendry's forearms and she felt his muscles tense as she clung to him. She could not believe that she had ever been foolish enough to think that there were merely birds in her stomach when clearly there were full grown dragons swooping around her insides. She felt herself growing lightheaded and that was when Arya realized that she had forgotten to breath since Gendry had taken a hold of her face. She drew in a trembling breath as Gendry leaned closer to her and she could feel her heartbeat speed up like the bass of a techno song. Gendry ran a finger down her cheek lightly as his forehead came to rest against hers and part of Arya wanted to tell him to quit stalling and just kiss her already. At the same time, she didn't want this moment to end because even without kissing him this had to be the most romantic moment of her entire life.

Arya gripped his arms tighter as he slowly moved, fingers trailing down her face to grip her chin as his lips finally,_ finally,_ met hers. Gendry's lips felt impossibly soft against hers and Arya clung to him as she felt herself all but melt into his arms. The dragons in her stomach seemed to grow in strength with the kiss and when Gendry slowly pulled away to smile down at her Arya felt like she was burning alive from the inside and out.

For the first time in her life Arya felt like she was finally beginning to understand why people were so obsessed with kissing. Kissing Gendry was something she would happily grow used too.

XxX

Even with the Clegane brothers fight over Arya was still working extra hours and with Gendry's conflicting schedule she wasn't able to see much of him other than class for the next week. Every time she sat beside him, she spent the whole class playing their kiss over in their mind and she had to resist the urge to run her fingers over her lips like a love-struck fool. She desperately wanted to kiss him again and find out if the kiss really was as good as she remembered or if she had since built it up to impossible standards in her head.

Now that she had kissed him once Arya found that she was pretty much dying to do it again. She wasn't about to lean over and smooch him during class though, although she certainly did imagine it. To say that she didn't learn much in class that week would be putting it lightly.

Before Arya could worry that the kiss and the date might end up being a one-time deal Gendry called her to a stop as she left class one day. She had a class directly after their shared one and she always had to hurry away as it was across campus.

"Hey so Davos told me the bar is having a Halloween party Saturday." Gendry said as he adjusted his backpack up higher on his shoulder.

Arya nodded as she forced her gaze to stay on his eyes and not drift to his lips. Aegon had already told her about it but with everything happening with Gendry she had completely forgotten.

"Do you want to go together?" Gendry asked, and Arya wondered if she was imaging the nervousness in his voice.

"Do I have to wear a costume?" Arya asked, even though she was already jumping up and down on the inside that Gendry was asking her out.

"Of course." Gendry scoffed as he shook his head at her. "What kind of person goes to a Halloween party without a costume?"

"Well I guess I can handle that." Arya sighed but she was unable to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up into a smile.

"Great, it's a date!" Gendry grinned as he began to walk away from her. By the time Arya finally stopped smiling that day the muscles in her face were sore.

XxX

Arya had been so busy lately that she hadn't had a chance to plan her Halloween costume so she dragged Shireen with her to pick out costumes because she was going to a party at her uncle's house and Arya didn't feel right about letting her go without a costume. The party store was pretty picked over by the time they got around to it but they managed to scrounge up a few decent things to choose from. Shireen ended up picking a cowgirl costume and Arya was going to be a pirate although she didn't plan on wearing the eyepatch. She hated having her vision impaired.

Gendry and her had agreed to meet at the bar as Gendry never drink and drove, whenever she met him at the bar he had walked there. He'd offered to meet her at her dorm and walk with her but Arya declined. She was a big girl she was capable of walking by herself. She passed a whole lot of people in costumes as she walked and she found herself grinning as she pushed her way into the bar. She had always been fond of Halloween. Spooky music was pounding through the speakers and the place was even more tightly packed than it had been on New Years. Arya picked her way through the dancers to get to the bar, avoiding Toliver's section and heading to Davos who was dressed as what looked to be a zombie astronaut.

Before she could order her drink a hand pressed into the small of her back and Arya whirled around, her hands already curled into fists and ready to be thrown at whatever fool had laid their hands on her.

"Sorry!" Gendry cried pulling his hand away. "I said your name, it's too loud in here." To her amusement he was also dressed as a pirate, although he had chosen to wear his eye-patch.

Arya dropped her hand with a relieved sigh. "No worries." she said grateful that Gendry didn't look annoyed that she had almost gut punched him. In fact, he seemed more chagrined by the whole thing than she was. He had already ordered her a beer that he passed to her as they fought their way through the crowd to the wall farthest from the speaker so that they could at least try to talk to each other.

Even as far from the music source as they were, they were still having to shout and Arya found herself wanting nothing more than to leave. While she usually didn't mind crowds and she really liked parties that night all she wanted to do was talk to Gendry. And maybe more than talk, as her eyes kept drifting to his lips.

"Wanna get out of here?" Gendry asked, leaning closer so that she could hear him. Arya's heart soared that he was on the same page as her.

"And go where?" she asked curiously, not that she really cared where they went. They hadn't seen much of each other since their date and right now she really just wanted to spend some time with him.

"I know a really good pizza place near here." Gendry's grin grew wider as Arya smiled, remembering the first night they had met. "Pizza's still not a code word for sex just so you know." Gendry leaned closer to whisper into her ear, his lips brushing her skin in a way that made her shiver.

Arya fought down a blush as she nodded and downed the rest of her drink before following him out through the crowd. She hoped it wasn't a code word for sex because she wasn't ready for that yet. She definitely would not say no to some more kissing though.

The pizza place was thankfully far less crowded than the bar and Arya was glad to learn it was still just as good when she was mostly sober as it was when she was thrashed. When they were finished Gendry invited her over to watch some horror movies which Arya gladly agreed to, she didn't want the night to be over but she didn't want to go back to the loudness of the bar.

The walk to Gendry's didn't seem nearly as long as it really was as they spent the whole time teasing each other and laughing. When they got to his place Arya followed him up the stairs to his loft like she had been up there a hundred times instead of just the once. The dragons in her stomach seemed to be calm for the moment but Arya wondered how long that was going to last.

Arya settled into the single chair as Gendry propped his laptop open on the table in front of them and pulled up a horror movie neither of them had seen. He finally removed the eyepatch as he flicked off the lights and settled down beside her. Their sides were pressed against each other and Arya wondered for a moment if he could feel how hard her heart was pounding.

The movie started off slowly and Arya was only half paying attention so when a ghost popped up on the screen she flinched in surprise. Gendry's laugh tickled the side of her face as he turned to her and whispered. "You know, you can hold my hand if you're scared."

Arya scoffed, hoping he could see her glare with the glow of the laptop screen. How dare he think she was scared of a fake ghost story? "I'm not scared."

"You can still hold my hand anyway." Gendry returned, turning his hand so that it was palm up where it rested on his leg. That was all the invitation Arya needed and she slowly moved her hand into his.

"Are you scared?" Arya asked. Their fingers threaded together and Arya wasn't entirely sure if they were talking about the movie anymore.

The light of the laptop danced strange shadows across Gendry's face and his voice seemed to have dropped an octave as he replied. "Terrified."

Arya could hear her heartbeat in her ears as she told herself to use that bravery that she always prided herself on. Arya ignored the familiar swoop in her stomach as she turned to face Gendry better, hoping that he couldn't feel the tremor of her fingers as she rose her free hand to rest against his cheek. His eyes drifted shut at her touch and Arya watched them do so in wonder. For the first time she let herself wonder if she had the same effect on Gendry that he had on her.

There was far less distance to close between them than there was the night they kissed on the docks but Arya still felt like it took her ages to lean across the small space and have her lips be on Gendry's once more. She sighed against his lips as Gendry ran his fingers through her hair, pulling her closer to him. Arya moved her hand from his face to his chest and as she clutched at the cheap material of his costume she could feel his heart pounding against her fingers. She honestly wasn't sure whose heart was beating faster in that moment.

Arya could have gone on kissing him forever but eventually they had to break apart as they were both breathless. Gendry rested his forehead against hers again and Arya smiled as she brushed his nose with hers. As their breathing returned to normal Arya decided to use some of her regained bravery and she let go of Gendry's hand to pull his arm around her and tuck herself against his chest. He pulled her closer to him and they both turned their attention back to the laptop screen.

"I have no idea what's happening anymore." Arya admitted after a few minutes of watching the characters running through the woods from an unseen phantom.

"Me neither." Gendry admitted with a laugh, running his fingers through her short hair in a way that sent shivers running up Arya's spine. She didn't understand how Gendry could make her feel both impossibly warm and cold at the same time.

"We should pay more attention." Arya teased, turning her head to look up at him.

"Absolutely not." Gendry whispered as he leaned down to kiss her again.


	6. Polish

AN-And it's complete! Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoy it!

_November_

As time went on Arya found it more and more funny how scared she had been of making a move on Gendry. Except for the adage of kissing not much else had changed in their relationship. They still spent nearly every night sitting at the bar and laughing with Hot-Pie and Lommy while waiting for Aegon to get off work. They still took turns teasing Davos and trying to goad him into telling them more stories about his youth. He had told Gendry once after a long shift and a few beers that he had been a roadie for several years when he was in his twenties and Arya was determined not to rest until she had heard all of his scandalous stories. He kept telling her he didn't have any but she didn't believe him.

They still ran into each other at the Acorn and did homework together and sat by each other in class. Gendry had started to walk her to her next class and she had started coming by his studio a couple times a week to study and help his with his sculptures. And make out in his chair while they watched movies. He had even come over to her dorm room one Saturday and joined them for a marathon of Shireen's favorite sci-fi trilogies.

Arya still wasn't sure if this new found closeness meant that they were dating or not so she refused to so much as even think of him as her boyfriend. She decided she wasn't going to label it, she was just Arya and he was just Gendry and sometimes they made out. Sometimes they didn't.

There was no need to put a label on it or demand that he be exclusive to her when what they had was already good enough for her. Besides, she wasn't worried about him seeing other girls. They spent enough time together she was pretty sure she would know about it if he was.

The thing that had most of Arya's attention when she wasn't with Gendry was trying to decide what she was going to major in. She had to declare it by the end of the next semester and she still had no idea what she wanted to do. Sansa told her to picture where she wanted to be in five years and said that it would help her decide but when Arya did that all she saw was a foggy gray blankness. She had only as far as what she would be doing until she graduated college planned out and even then, she didn't know what she would be graduating with. Asking her to picture five years in the future was pretty much impossible.

Aegon had even less helpful advice telling her to pick the easiest thing she thought she could make a career out of. Hot-Pie told her that she should major in cooking and Lommy had quickly seconded him but Arya knew they had ulterior motives in that so she ignored them. Gendry told her that she should pick something she loved and when she told him that the only thing she really loved was boxing he had brushed a chunk of hair out of her eyes and told her to major in that then. Arya was too busy kissing him to tell him that wasn't a major, stupid.

Davos had more practical advice, telling her to pick a field that she could happily work in and be passionate about. She'd asked Jaqen for advice and had gotten an unhelpful 'a girl will pick what a girl will pick.' She'd considered asking Sandor as she was still fighting him twice a week even with his match against his brother over. But considering that they never exchanged more than six words in the ring a night she had a feeling any advice he had would be even less helpful than Jaqen's. She'd asked all of her family members and their advice ranged from practical (her mother's 'Business is never a wrong choice.') to irrational (Rickon's sage 'Baking so you can send me sweets').

In the end, the best advice ended up coming from Theon of all places. Arya didn't tell him this as she knew that it would go to his head and then he would start giving people unsolicited advice about all things in their lives. Odds were that he had to give sound advice at least once in his life. Enough monkies in a room would eventually type Shakespeare as the saying went.

She would take out her phone and stare at the text message often, even though the words were already burned into her brain. The advice was simple enough, but deciding what it meant for her was a much harder story.

**Theon:** You should major in something you love so much that you'd do it even if you weren't making any money.

XxX

The problem with Theon's advice was that she already knew what the thing for her was. She loved fighting, she always had. She had done it for years in Bravos and then for months at the House. She had paid to do it in Bravos and at the start of the House. Even now the advanced classes she took with Jaqen were deducted from her wages. When she was young, she had begged her parents to let her learn how to fight but they refused fearing she would become too violent. As it was, she had been prone to pulling her sister's hair in fights and stomping on people's toes when they angered her. It was unfortunate no one had told them that fighting classes might have helped channel Arya's rage into a helpful outlet but she found it by herself later on.

KLU had a lot of programs but Arya couldn't major in fighting, they taught a few martial arts entry level physical education classes but Arya had sat in on one of them once and found it to be an insult to the craft.

Arya sighed and tucked her arm behind her head as she stared up at the black ceiling above her. It was her third sleepless night in a row and she had spent hours trying to toss and turn as quietly as she could so she didn't wake Shireen where she slept in the small bed across from hers. This shouldn't be such a difficult decision but then again, she was deciding on the path of her future.

She supposed her mother was right and she could always just major in business just to declare something. She could always change her major later, it would be a hassle but not the end of the world. At least if she majored in business, she could always open her own boxing gym one day and know how to run it in both the craft and the books.

Arya sat bolt upright in bed as the idea blossomed in her mind. Her own gym. Winterfell had a small marital arts studio but only the one and there were limited classes there. If she opened her own place, she could have kickboxing, boxing, fencing all kinds of things.

Arya bit her lip and slipped out of bed, pulling her phone off her desk as she passed on her way into the hall. The fluorescent lights burned brightly and it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the harsh brightness after the darkness of her room. Arya pulled the name up in her contacts easily, it was one of the last people she called after all.

The phone was already on its second ring when Arya suddenly feared she was calling too late but when he answered Gendry sounded as awake as he had when she'd called him after class that afternoon.

"You okay?" he asked, and she could hear the now familiar whir of his machinery on in the background.

"I've decided on what I'm going to major in." Arya admitted in a hushed voice that did not conceal her excitement.

"That's awesome. What is it?" Gendry asked curiously as the machine sound faded as he walked away from it.

Arya bit her lip, suddenly unsure if she should tell him about her plans to open a gym in Winterfell. Out here in the bright hallway lights it seemed almost silly. But Arya was so happy about finally seeing a path for her future that it made her giddy and as such, slightly fearless. "Business. I want to open a boxing gym one day. In Winterfell."

There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment as Gendry digested this and it was just long enough that a ball of doubt began to form in Arya's stomach, sapping away slowly at her joy.

"That sounds like a great plan Arya." Gendry finally said, his voice softer and was it Arya's over exhausted imagination or a little sadder? "You'll be amazing at that."

"Thanks." Arya scuffed her bare foot against the tile floor suddenly feeling a little reckless and an overwhelming urge to see his face and know what he was thinking in that moment. "I can't sleep. Can I come over?"

Gendry answered almost as soon as the question left her mouth, "I'll be over in ten minutes."

XxX

Arya didn't bother to change out of her pajamas but she did slip back into her dorm, careful not to let in too much light and wake Shireen, to grab her boots and jacket. It was chilly at night here but still nothing compared to the freezing temperatures Winterfell was already facing. She couldn't wait to go home for winter break, she could feel the snow under her feet already.

"You didn't have to wait outside." Gendry admonished her as she hopped into his jeep moments after he pulled up to the curb. "It's not safe."

Arya simply gave him a look that made him bark out a laugh at himself. "Sorry, forgot who I was talking to for a second." His smile at her was so sincere that the pang of annoyance Arya had felt at his words melted away and she leaned across the seat to plant a kiss on the corner of his mouth. She watched Gendry out of the corner of her eye for the whole drive trying to see if he looked disappointed about her current life plan but if he was, she couldn't tell.

They drove in companionable silence down the empty streets. It seemed as if everyone in the city was asleep except for them. Arya loved the city at night when it was quiet and empty like this. She felt like she could be anyone in those moments, do anything. There were no rules she was supposed to follow, no expectations she was supposed to keep. The city and the movement of the jeep lulled her into a calmness and by the time they pulled up in front of Gendry's studio Arya was beginning to feel her sleepless nights catching up with her.

She followed Gendry inside and tried to hide a yawn but she wasn't sure how successful she was. There was equipment scattered around a metal work bench in the corner, whatever he was working on this time was small enough to fit on the table. The last they had talked about his art he had been working on a series of bulls, as she got closer to the table she could see that was what he was working on now, the sculpture was only half-formed but even without touching it Arya could tell the horns were sharp enough to draw blood just as the rose's thorns had been. Gendry's sculptures were as dangerous as they were beautiful.

"You must be excited." Gendry's voice suddenly pulled Arya from her thoughts and she looked back at him over her shoulder. He stuffed his hands into the pocket of his hoodie as he stared at her. "Knowing that you're going to move back to Winterfell."

Arya leaned back against the work table and crossed her arms over her chest defensively. This right here was why she had been worried about starting something with Gendry. It seemed like they already had an expiration date, even if it was quite a way in the future. "It's not until I graduate." Arya reminded him, surprised at how soft her own voice sounded. It was like she was trying to coax Nymeria out of a corner, like the time she and Shaggydog played too hard and he'd ripped into her skin. She had been too upset to let Arya touch her for several minutes.

Gendry shrugged and looked around the studio instead of meeting her eyes. "You might change your mind again."

Arya's hands curled into fists. "I won't." she bit out through clenched teeth the tone in her voice finally making Gendry meet her eyes again. She stared him down, allowing the vulnerability she felt to show for once. "I've already told you I'm finishing out school here in King's Landing. This new plan doesn't change that."

Gendry looked at her for a long moment before sighing and taking his hands out of his pockets to tug at his black hair. "I just..." Gendry trailed off before he dropped his hands and looked at her, his blue eyes deeper than she had ever seen them. "I don't like the idea of losing you."

The words hung heavy in the air between them as they rolled over and over in Arya's mind. She knew Gendry liked her, he wouldn't be kissing her if he didn't, but that was the first time he had said something so intensely romantic to her before. She found that her heart was beating harder than it ever had before and she pushed off of the table and let her arms drop to her sides as she walked closer to him. He watched her approach wearily like he was unsure if she was going to hit or kiss him.

"You're not losing me." Arya whispered as she came to a stop in front of him. She reached her hands out and curled them into the front of his hoodie, pushing up onto her tiptoes as she pulled his face down to meet hers, "I'm right here." she whispered against his lips before Gendry cupped the back of her head in his hand and pulled her forward to kiss her fervently.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and Arya was pretty sure her feet left the floor for a moment. By the time they pulled apart they were both breathless and Gendry rested his forehead against hers, his eyes boring down into hers as their breathing returned to normal.

"Stay with me tonight." Gendry whispered, his voice hoarse.

A shiver went up Arya's spine at his words. She hadn't spent the night at his place before, they hadn't done anything more than kiss yet. Despite how much she cared about Gendry and wanted him she wasn't sure if she was ready to do anything else yet. Her thoughts must have appeared on her face because Gendry brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes before whispering, "We don't have to do anything. I just want to sleep next to you."

Bone deep tiredness suddenly settled over Arya and she found herself nodding before she even thought it through. Gendry smiled and pressed a kiss against her forehead before taking her hand and leading her up the staircase with him. Arya felt her heart pounding in her throat the whole time she followed him upstairs. She had never shared a bed with a boy not related to her before and she suddenly had rampant fears running through her mind. She wondered if she snored but no one had ever told her that she did before. Her roommates hadn't said anything about it. She did sometimes kick and thrash but she hadn't done that for a while. Her mother claimed she used to talk in her sleep as a child but Arya was pretty sure she had outgrown that by now.

Gendry's bed suddenly looked a lot smaller than the last time she saw it and Arya toyed out of her boots nervously. Thankfully Gendry kept on his t-shirt and sweatpants because Arya didn't think she would be able to handle sleeping next to him if he wore anything less.

As if he could see her nerves on her face Gendry hesitated before climbing into the bed. "You don't have to stay if you don't want too."

Arya shook her head and striped off her jacket, draping it over the edge of the chair. "I want too." she whispered before sliding into the bed beside him and laying down nervously on his pillow. It smelled like Gendry and the scent made some of her muscles untense as she relaxed.

Gendry leaned over her to switch off the bedside lamp plunging them into darkness cut only by the moonlight coming through the uncovered windows. Arya wondered if Gendry was close enough that he could feel her heart pounding but he didn't touch her as he settled down next to her. She wondered if he regretted asking her to stay or how she was ever going to fall asleep with this nervous feeling in her stomach when she felt Gendry's hand move along the blanket. She tensed wondering if he was going to make a move she wasn't ready for but he merely took her hand in his, wrapping her smaller fingers up in his larger ones. Arya let out a sigh of relief and intertwined her fingers with his before closing her eyes letting the sound of Gendry's breath slowly lull her into sleep.

XxX

Dawn was just breaking when Arya awoke, feeling incredibly warmer than she had when she had fallen asleep. It took her a moment to place where she was and another moment to realize that they had both shifted during the night and her head was now resting on Gendry's chest. He had an arm wrapped around her shoulders and their legs were tangled together and trapped around the sheets.

Arya considered moving, to put some space back between them but Gendry was so warm she didn't want to move. She snuggled closer into his chest and in return his arm wound tighter around her. Arya closed her eyes and let sleep take her. She could get used to this.

XxX

"Who are these people?" Robb asked curiously, bending closer to peer at the photo tucked into the corner of Arya's mirror.

Robb was in town for the weekend for a conference for their father's company. He had been working for their father ever since he graduated from UoW and their father had taken to sending Robb to conferences instead of going to them himself. Part of Arya thought it was because he didn't want to leave their mother any more than he had too but another part thought it was his way of making sure Robb saw more of the country than Winterfell.

They had met up at Sansa's apartment before they went over to Arya's dorm so Robb could see where she lived. Arya was pretty sure that was code for making sure she wasn't living in squalor so he could report back to their mother that he had in fact checked in on both of the girls.

The picture he was looking at was one Lommy had given her. He liked to consider himself an amateur photographer and Arya had to admit he did have an eye for it. In fact, over half the photos on her Instagram now had been taken by him. The photo Robb was staring at was from the last day before the semester started and he had taken it with a tripod and a timer on the boys' back porch. He was testing out a new camera and they were all buzzed enough to humor him and be subjects of his photos. He'd given them all copies after he'd developed them as a thank you.

In the photo Arya was sitting on the railing of the porch with Gendry on one side of her and Aegon on the other with his arms wrapped around her back and Lommy's shoulders. Hot-Pie stood on the other side of Gendry with his arm around Gendry's sholders like he was patting him on the back but Arya knew he'd been trying to give him bunny ears but hadn't managed to do it before the photo snapped.

"Those are my friends." Arya said, rolling her eyes at the long sigh of relief Robb let out at her words.

"Thank the Gods. We've been worried you hadn't made any." Robb shook his head with a cheeky grin as Arya swatted him on the shoulder.

"Jon and Sansa have met my friends!" Arya cried, sounding more offended than she actually felt. She had missed her brother's teasing.

"I haven't met that one." Sansa said pointing towards Gendry in the photo. Arya thanked the Gods she didn't have the Tully red hair as she didn't blush as she shrugged her shoulders.

"That's Gendry. Jon met him." Arya felt the need to add, mainly hoping that it would take any suspicion off of her. She had just spent the night at Gendry's again the night before, she really didn't want to be fielding any questions about him with her siblings until she knew what they were.

"I should get to meet him if Jon's met him." Robb suddenly pipped up making Arya swing her head to look at him so fast her neck popped.

"I think he's working today." Arya threw out quickly even though she knew he wasn't. She didn't want to parade him around her siblings like a pet. Gendry would not appreciate it and she didn't want to do it.

"I knew Jon was your favorite." Robb pouted causing both his sisters to roll their eyes at him. Arya didn't feel like protecting Robb's fragile ego by correcting him.

Besides, he wasn't wrong.

XxX

Tucking her legs underneath her in the chair Arya double checked her booking information before purchasing her tickets back home. She couldn't help the grin that began to spread across her face at the thought of going home, even if she was only going back for one week out of the break's three. She couldn't leave her job for that long.

"You buy them then?" Gendry asked as he came up the stairs to his loft and caught sight of the grin on her face. Arya shut her laptop and nodded as he sat down on the low table across from her.

Her and Sansa would be leaving Christmas Eve and coming back to King's Landing New Years' Eve. She figured that was the safest bet in making sure Sansa didn't quit her resolution right before the finish line.

"Where are you spending Christmas?" Arya asked curiously as she placed her laptop on the table beside Gendry. When she had told him about going home for the holiday, she had asked him what he usually did for Christmas. It was a delicate subject to bring up as he had never met his father and his mother had passed several years ago, he had no other family that he knew of and Arya had feared that he would tell her that he always spent the holiday alone. She had forgotten for a moment that blood was not all that made a family.

"Davos invited me over for dinner round his place. I'll spend the morning at Tobho's with everyone from the shop." Gendry shrugged like it wasn't a big deal but Ayra could tell from the nervous bounce of his leg that he was anxious about going to Davos's and meeting his family. She knew that the two of them had hung out outside of the bar often, once she saw Davos at Gendry's birthday party she realized that their relationship was more than just bartender and patron. She had seen the looks Gendry gave Davos sometimes, like he was the father he had always wanted. She'd also heard Davos call Gendry 'son' more than once. She didn't comment on it, it wasn't her place. The two of them had found a kindred spirit in each other and she was just happy that Gendry had people to be with come the holidays.

"How long will you be gone?" Gendry asked curiously.

"Just a week."

Gendry nodded and his leg didn't stop bouncing. Arya rose her eyebrows at it and was about to ask him what was bothering him when he suddenly looked up at her, his eyes intense. "You are going to come back right?"

Arya felt a piece of her heart melt at the sincere worry in his tone, he really was afraid of losing her. She scooted forward to the edge of the chair so that their knees were touching as she reached up and placed her hands on either side of his face. While she was touched by his concern, she didn't like the idea of Gendry being so worried about her leaving but she didn't know what else to say to prove to him that she wasn't going anywhere.

She kept her eyes locked on his as she leaned closer to him, putting every ounce of reassurance she could muster into her voice as she whispered, "Of course stupid."

His surprised laugh was cut short by her kiss.

_December_

Arya wondered if finals got worse with every year or if she was just imagining it. Judging by the amount of stress everyone in her classes seemed to be under she wasn't. Shireen had made flashcards for every single one of her classes and whenever Arya saw her, she either had her face hidden by them or they were scattered around her on her desk. She was pretty sure Aegon was living on a diet of gummy bears and energy drinks and she hadn't seen Lommy in two weeks.

Considering they were only sophomores Arya was dreading what final's week would look like come their senior year.

Thankfully they all somehow survived it although looking back all Arya could remember was one long sleepless blur filled with way too many textbooks and waking up in a panic at three am that she had answered a question wrong. When she stayed at the studio Gendry would pull her back to his chest and the sound of his heartbeat would lull her back to sleep. The nights she slept in her dorm she would get up and sit in the hallway with her textbook, pouring over material for exams she had already taken. It wasn't until Shireen caught her one night after she'd been out there for two hours and told her gently that knowing the right answer wouldn't help her now that Arya finally stopped doing it.

The last night of the semester and the day before they had to be out of the dorm for the break, Arya dragged Shireen with her to the boys' house for their Christmas party. She had been trying to get Shireen to come out with her all semester as she actually liked her roommate, much to Arya's surprise, but the girl was very studious. She did go out to a few parties at her uncle's house but she was always home sober by a sensible time. Arya didn't care if Shireen drank that night or not but she wanted her to at least have one night in college where she stayed up until an unreasonable hour and just had a good time.

Shireen protested until Arya told her they had to wear ugly Christmas sweaters and then she agreed only if they made their own which was how Arya found herself wearing a black sweater covered in green tinsel where if she raised her arm she would look like a Christmas tree, ornaments and blinking lights and all. It turned out Shireen was a crafting wizard as was apparent by the snow globe she had made on her sweater. Arya had a feeling if she and Sansa ever hung out there would be glitter and yarn involved.

They walked to the boys' house as it was the easiest way for them to get there and Shireen had looked so nervous about walking the streets at night that Arya had to remind her several times that she was scarier than anyone they were going to run into. The thought did not seem to calm her.

Thankfully when they arrived at the house it was not a wild raging party like Arya had feared it might be. When Aegon told her to come over she never knew if she would be walking into a house filled with thirty people or three. This time it was just four.

"You're still alive then?" Arya asked Lommy as she took her jacket off in the entry way, Shireen looking around nervously.

"I survived!" he cried happily, throwing his arms into the air in happiness and making the bells on his sweater jingle loudly at the movement.

They had all met Shireen at one time or another stopping by Arya's room so she didn't feel the need to reintroduce them as she gently led Shireen further into the room.

"Nice sweater." Hot-Pie nodded at the snow globe on Shireen's shirt as she sat down across from him.

She mumbled a soft 'thanks' that made Arya roll her eyes. "She made it." she interjected when it seemed Shireen wasn't going to tell them. "She helped me make mine too."

"What even are you?" Aegon asked as he passed her a beer.

Arya huffed in fake annoyance as she rose her arms over her head, completing the Christmas tree image. "I'm a tree, duh."

"A very nice tree." Gendry agreed, scooting over to give her room to sit between him and Shireen. Arya rolled her eyes at him as he put an arm around her shoulders and pressed a quick kiss to her temple.

"You're very talented." Hot-Pie said causing Shireen to blush and look at her feet. Aegon kicked Arya's foot and gave her a knowing look which she returned.

"We have cookies!" Lommy suddenly declared as he sat bolt upright so quickly beer sloshed out of his bottle.

"Yes! We're decorating cookies!" Aegon jumped up and led the way into the kitchen. Arya could see Shireen's shoulders relaxing at the thought of doing such a normal holiday activity. "Aren't they beautiful?" Aegon asked as he stopped in front of the kitchen counter and waved his arm over bowls of frosting and a platter of cookies all shaped like penises.

Arya burst into laughter as Gendry groaned and buried his head in his hands. She expected Shireen to blush or look appalled but to her surprise she was laughing too.

Hot-Pie surveyed the counter with a surprisingly critical look for someone looking at penis shaped cookies that Arya knew he had to have made considering they weren't burnt. He picked up one of the bowls of frosting and frowned. "I don't think we have enough blue frosting."

He looked around at everyone as they burst into even more laughter, surprise written on his face before he realized what he had said and burst into laughter of his own.

XxX

To her surprise, Shireen seemed to really enjoy hanging out with her friends. They had decorated the cookies with a disturbing amount of detail. Lommy even made a little sweater out of frosting on one of them. They had then watched Christmas movies and ate so many cookies they all felt a little ill. Gendry walked them home despite Arya's insistence that they were capable of doing it on their own.

They spent the rest of the evening finishing packing. Shireen was spending the entirety of the break back home in Storm's End and Arya met her severe looking father when he came to pick her up. Despite the seriousness of his face Arya could see the resemblance to Renly and she was struck again by how much Gendry had their same coloring. The thought fled from her mind when Shireen leaned over to hug her good-bye as they parted ways. Despite everything they did together she hadn't realized they were that close yet.

Arya was spending the break when they weren't in Winterfell crashing on Sansa's couch, it was a lot more comfortable than the boys' couch and then she didn't have to deal with Aegon constantly asking if her and Gendry were having sex yet or if she wanted any pointers. She loved the boy but he sometimes didn't understand the meaning of the word boundaries.

Gendry picked her up and took her to Sansa's, she was at work so Arya even let him come inside. She wasn't ready for him to meet anymore of her siblings because she was worried that would pop the happy bubble they seemed to find themselves in. Besides, they still hadn't put a label on what they were yet. Ayra didn't really feel like they needed to, it wasn't like either of them were seeing other people. But she didn't know how she was supposed to introduce him, what if she said boyfriend and he corrected her? What if she said friend and he corrected her? This whole dating thing was way more confusing than Arya had ever expected it to be. She'd thought once you started kissing the person you liked the confusion would be over. She was very disappointed to find out that she was wrong.

"What's with all the yarn?" Gendry asked curiously as he stood uncomfortably in the small entryway. Arya sighed as she surveyed the overflowing baskets of multiple colors of yarn scattered throughout the apartment. Sansa had started mailing off her scarves last week so there actually wasn't as much as there used to be.

"Don't ask." she said with a shake of her head as she deposited her bags by the couch. She hoped he didn't ask as then that might lead to questions if she knitted and Arya had been working painstaking hours for the last few days on a project that she didn't want him to know about yet.

Gendry shrugged as he came closer into the apartment, surveying the artwork on the walls.

"This is where you got my rose right?" Gendry asked, pointing to an advert from the Rose Festival Sansa had framed on her wall. Arya nodded as she plopped down onto the couch. Gendry walked around the room curiously for a moment more before joining her.

"Nice place." Gendry finally said causing Arya to nod. It wasn't her style but it was still a nice little apartment. "Is that you?" he suddenly asked, getting up to grab a framed photo Sansa kept on a bookcase next to the TV. Arya groaned and buried her face in a pillow already knowing what photo he was grabbing. She had asked Sansa to get rid of it for years to no avail. She had even stolen it and burned it once only to come over and find it back on the mantel again like a ghost. Turned out Sansa had the digital copy so she could just reprint it no matter how many times Arya destroyed it.

"You look cute with long hair." Gendry said over her groans causing Arya to flip him off. "And in pink."

For that she threw the throw pillow at him. It needed to live up to its name after all.

XxX

The next week passed too quickly and too slowly all at the same time. It passed slowly because Arya was counting the days down until she got to be back in Winterfell again and every moment she was alone seemed to drag on for hours. At the same time, it passed quickly because she was spending full days at the boxing gym taking on another instructor's classes as they were on vacation. The time she wasn't at work she was finishing her knitting project with Sansa's tutelage or hanging out with the boys or Gendry. Hot-Pie even taught her how to make gingerbread from scratch although they shaped these ones in just boring Christmas shapes like trees and ornaments. She brought a plate of them to the owners of the Acorn and they told her to let Hot-Pie know that their offer of a job still stood.

The time she spent with Gendry passed quickest of all. She was helping him finish up a slew of commission pieces before the holidays. It seemed his work was really starting to take off and his pieces were getting noticed. He was starting to take in mail in orders and he had one as far as Dorne. He was up to his ears in work so Arya was glad to help him out passing him tools or holding larger parts of sculptures in place as he welded them. Truthfully the process would probably go a little faster if they stopped making out between every piece but Arya wasn't about to complain.

Despite the fact that she had slept over at Gendry's a handful of times by now she made sure to go back to Sansa's apartment every night. There were some conversations she just didn't want to have with her sister. Besides, she had her own project to finish.

Sansa and her were flying out to Winterfell early Christmas Eve and there wouldn't be enough time for Arya to see Gendry before they left so she brought his gift with her when she went over to his studio the night of the twenty-third. They hadn't discussed if they were going to give each other gifts but Arya didn't care if he got her one or not. She had worked hard on his and wanted to give it to him.

For the first time since the break had started there was no equipment running when Arya let herself in through the unlocked door of the studio. Gendry called out to her from the loft, where he stood at the top of the stairs and peered down at her.

"Are you hungry? I made dinner." even from the bottom of the stairs Arya could see how nervous he looked and she was quick to nod despite the gnawing nervousness in her stomach that had ate away any appetite she might have had. Gendry had never cooked for her before though and she wasn't about to spoil that. She picked the best she could at the spaghetti he had made, it was good she was just too nervous to force much of it down.

Gendry must have noticed something was wrong because he asked her several times if she was okay. After the fourth time Arya gave in to her nerves and pulled the badly wrapped gift out of her of her coat pocket. She really needed to learn how to wrap gifts neater. Maybe she could get Sansa to teach her that too.

"This is for you." she said shyly as she passed it to him. Gendry took it slowly like it was a bomb that might explode.

"You didn't have to get me anything." Gendry said.

Arya shrugged and tried to look nonchalant as she admitted. "I didn't. I made it." She hadn't known what to buy him and after hours of dragging Sansa to every store in the mall she finally admitted defeat. Gendry was a very practical person and she didn't know what to get him now that they weren't just friends. She decided that a more personal gift would be better so she had pleaded with Sansa to teach her how to knit something before Christmas.

Gendry rose his eyebrows in surprise at that before setting the gift on the table and standing up quickly. "Hold on a second."

A bit taken aback Arya nervously fidgeted with Needle as Gendry ran down the stairs. She could hear him looking for something and before she had much time to regret giving him a gift he was back up the stairs with his hands behind his back.

"I'm a shit. I forgot to wrap it." he admitted with a blush.

Arya looked up at him in surprise. "What?"

"Your gift. I forgot to wrap it." Gendry explained as he sat down on the table across from her, his hands still behind his back.

"You didn't have to get me anything." Arya said with a shake of her head. She really hadn't expected him too. It was part of why she was so nervous giving him her present.

"I didn't. I made it." Gendry repeated her own words back with a cheeky grin that made Arya roll her eyes.

"I don't care if its wrapped." she admitted because she didn't. The very thought that Gendry had made her something was making her heartbeat faster.

Gendry hesitated for a moment before pulling his hands out from behind his back and passing Arya the object in his hands. She took it but kept her eyes on him, resisting the urge to look down at the metal sculpture she could feel in her hands.

"Open yours." she said softly and Gendry picked up the present off the table as he looked at her. "We'll look at the same time." she explained causing him to smile.

He was able to pull the paper off easily as Arya had used the bear minimum for tape to hold it together. The gray woolen hat fell into his hands as Arya looked down at her own and drew a deep breath in surprise.

A dark gray wolf the size of both her hands stood on a metal log with its ears alert and its back slightly arched like it was hunting something. The metal Gendry had used for it had been pounded so thin that the planes of its back looked like real fur. It was more intricate than anything she had ever seen him make before, she could not even fathom how many hours it had taken him to make this for her.

"It's beautiful." Arya breathed looking up at Gendry and letting out a startled laugh when she realized he had put on the hat she had made for him. She was relieved to see that it fit him she had been worried she had made it too small or messed up too many rows and it would unravel the moment he put it on.

"You're beautiful." Gendry said his eyes searching hers as she blushed. "I love the hat. How'd you know I needed one?"

Arya shook her head, "I didn't. It seemed like the easiest thing to make." It hadn't been but Arya didn't think that he would have worn a scarf. She chose not to comment on the first part of what he had said because she didn't really know what to say to that. She could hear it echoing in her mind even as she asked, "How long did it take you to make this?"

It was Gendry's turn to blush and she couldn't see his ears but she was certain that they were red as he looked down at his feet.

"I started making that the first time you came here." Gendry admitted as he looked back up at her. Arya could hear her heartbeat in her ears as he continued, "You made such a big deal about me not having any wolf sculptures I knew I had to make you one."

The thought of him working on something this beautiful for her when they weren't even really friends yet left Arya speechless. After a few minutes she was able to clear her throat and she looked down at the wolf again as she asked. "When did you finish it?"

"Last night."

Arya looked up at Gendry so fast her vision blurred and he shifted under her gaze. "You deserved something perfect. That was as close as I could get."

She ran her fingers down the wolf's spine with a newfound appreciation before she settled it on the small end table beside her as careful as if it were made of crystal. "It's perfect." She assured him as she slowly stood up and closed the half a foot of space between them. Arya put her hands on either side of Gendry's face as she leaned down to kiss him and he reached up to wrap his arms around her waist. She wasn't sure if she moved or if he pulled her down but somehow Arya found herself straddling his lap on the coffee table, their kisses hungry and their food long forgotten.

XxX

"I can't breath." Arya wheezed, tapping her father on the back to get him to loosen the hug he had wrapped her up in. They were standing in the foyer of the house she had grown up in and it was packed with everyone trying to hug her and Sansa as much as they could. Sansa and her were the last ones to arrive for the holiday so the house was packed to the brim with people. The five dogs darting around their feet weren't helping any matters.

"Sorry love." her father said as he slowly loosened his hold on her as if he was afraid that if he let her go she would disappear into thin air.

"It's okay." she assured him as she tucked her head against his chest. "I've missed you too."

He pressed a kiss against the crown of her head and Arya could have happily stayed in the circle of his arms if it wasn't for the insistent headbutting at the back of her knees. Arya stepped out of her father's hug to plop down on the ground, Nymeria clambering into her lap the moment her backside hit the floor. She used to sit in Arya's lap all the time when she was a puppy and even now that she was fully grown, she thought she could still fit. Arya rubbed her ears affectionally and tried not to get knocked over by her weight.

Nearly an hour passed before Nymeria let Arya get up off the floor again but she didn't really mind. She had missed Nymeria more than she would have thought possible so it was a bit of a relief to see that she had missed her as well. She didn't have to sit in the foyer alone, Rickon stayed with her and regaled her with the story of how he had stood up to the class bully who had walked away from their confrontation with three days of suspension whereas Rickon had only gotten one. Arya was all too happy to tell him that if he needed any tips on how to defend himself from punches she would be glad to show him. Despite the fact that Rickon was already bigger than her he knew that she was not a person to be trifled with and gladly accepted her offer. Thankfully their mother had been out of earshot for their conversation.

By the time Nymeria finally got off her legs to the sound of food hitting her dish Arya's legs had fallen asleep. She was only able to get to her feet by letting Ygritte pull her up and leaning heavily against her as they made their way to the couch. She kept scanning her fingers for the ring but it seemed Jon still hadn't given it to her yet. She would harp on him about it but considering she didn't even want to bring up Gendry to her family yet she wasn't about to start dishing out relationship advice to anyone else just yet.

She stayed up late talking to her family until they slowly drifted off to bed one by one. Jon and her were the last ones up and he finally told her that they needed to go to sleep because they both knew Rickon and Bran were going to wake them up at an ungodly hour. Arya fell asleep in her childhood bed and was surprised by how she no longer thought it was the most comfortable bed in the world. She had been spoiled by Gendry's large bed and the warmth of his body from beside her. Nymeria stretched out half on top of her and Arya had to turn her face so that she didn't fall asleep to the smell of dog breath.

It was good to be home.

She couldn't have been asleep for more than a couple of hours before two huge weights hit the bed and Arya sat bolt upright with a shout that was lost to the sound of her siblings' laughter.

"You guys are the worst." Arya huffed as she fell back against the pillows which were quickly pulled out from underneath her.

"Hey at least you didn't get a face full of dog droll." Sansa said holding Arya's pillow above her head and raising her eyebrows at Arya's halfhearted glare. Nymeria whined from beside her, clearly as unhappy as she was about being woken up so soon after falling asleep.

"Come on Arya! Presents are waiting." Bran said with a smile as he wheeled his chair closer to the bed and tugged the blankets off of her. Arya groaned at the cold air before sitting up.

"Fine but I get to wake up Theon." Arya sighed before she opened the bottom drawer of her nightstand and pulled out one of the Nerf guns she kept stashed there for this purpose.

"I told you she didn't take them all to school!" Rickon said shoving Bran's shoulder as Arya loaded the gun with its bullets.

XxX

Theon wasn't very happy about being woken up by being peppered with Nerf gun bullets but at the reminder of presents his ire faded quickly. He got to wake up Robb and Jeyne which helped too. Rickon joined him in jumping on the bed around the couple and Arya watched laughing from the doorway with Bran and Sansa half expecting the bed to snap under all of their weight.

The noise they were making woke their parents and Jon and Ygritte who shared a high-five at not having to be subject to the wake-up call. It got worse with every sibling that got woken up and being the last one up was never fun as was apparent from Robb and Jeyne's cries of 'enough already!'

The rest of the break passed in a blur of snowball fights and wrapping paper and more sweets than Aya thought she had ever eaten before in her life. She posted a photo of some of the cookies they had made on her Instagram and Hot-Pie pestered her for the recipe for Jeyne's chocolate fudge peppermint cookies for an hour until Arya finally caved and sent him a picture of it.

Arya had woken up extremely early one morning and her mother had been the only other person awake. Arya managed to convince her to go ice skating with her on the pond out back and the story of how Gendry had taken her skating back in August had been on the tip of her tongue but shouting had cut her off as Theon and Robb raced each other to the ice. Something about being back in the familiar walls of their Winterfell home always sent them all careening back to childhood.

Being back in the familiarity of Winterfell was exceptionally strange for Arya as she had spent nearly the last year wanting nothing more than to be back there. She couldn't deny that she was happy to be home or that she had missed it dearly but she wasn't filled with dread at the thought of leaving it again. She was beginning to realize that goodbyes weren't forever. She knew that she would be back in Winterfell one day, more than likely for good. Until that day she was happy to be where she was in King's Landing. It may have been a different path than she had expected her life to take but that didn't make it any less the path she was supposed to be on.

She had been scared that when it came time to leave for the airport she wouldn't be able to bring herself to get on the plane but it was surprisingly easy to say goodbye. She blinked back the tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she hugged everyone goodbye but it was easier this time because she knew she would be seeing them again shortly for Bran's high school graduation. It was easier to say goodbye when one had a deadline for the next time they would be together.

Their flight was delayed by several hours which Arya spent watching the snow fall outside the window longingly and trying to ignore Sansa's pacing. She was suddenly grateful she wasn't sitting beside her sister on the flight home because she was certain that she would drive her to either insanity or murder.

The thought gave Arya pause as it occurred to her that she had just thought of somewhere else as home while standing in Winterfell. The wait didn't feel so long after that.

XxX

It was past ten by the time they pulled up to Sansa's apartment building and she all but sprinted inside to change. Arya knew that she was going to meet Margaery that evening and she couldn't help but watch her race around the apartment to get ready in amusement. Arya had texted everyone that their flight was delayed so she was just going to meet Gendry and the others at the bar.

She figured she could wait a few more minutes before she left to join them. There was something she had felt like she needed to say to Sansa ever since she had told her a few weeks ago that she had found out that Margaery had been the one leaving her the flowers and that she had in fact known about it for months. Arya knew how hard this resolution had been for Sansa to keep, especially with Margaery in her life. Honestly, learning that Sansa had known where the flowers were coming from and didn't throw everything away to pursue Margaery had been a shock for Arya. Her sister wasn't very well known for seeing things through and Arya found that she was proud that Sansa had finished this out. She could see the changes in her sister, she was a much more independent person now than she had been when the year began. Arya was proud of her; it was a surprising feeling but not all together unpleasant.

Sansa was struggling by the door, trying to put on both her shoes and coat at once. Arya cleared her throat to get her attention.

"Before you go, I just wanted to say-" Arya hesitated with a frown, her face scrunching up as she tried to get the words out. Why were words from the heart so difficult to say? Arya finally managed to get the words all out in one breath, the words tumbling from her mouth like they were racing each other to get out. "I just want to say that I'm proud of you for sticking to your resolution."

"Thank you." Sansa said, the surprise evident in her tone. It was not lost on either of them that was easily the nicest thing Arya had ever said to or about her. "And thank you for helping me keep it."

Arya shrugged and shoved her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket. She ginned at Sansa as she finished putting on her shoes, "No problem. Now get out of here and go and get your girl."

XxX

Arya walked to the bar feeling like she was bouncing. Her heart felt a hundred times lighter having seen her family and Winterfell. She didn't even mind King's Landing milder temperature so much after getting to play in the snow again.

The bar seemed to be even more packed than it was last year and she was thankful for her small frame as it made darting through the crowd fairly easy. She spotted a familiar form sitting at the end barstool and she slipped up next to Gendry as she tried to fight down a blush as she thought about what they had done the last time she had seen him.

She tapped him lightly on the shoulder to alert him to her presence and he looked over at her curiously before his face broke into a large smile. Arya smiled back at him and stepped closer to him as the crowd surged around them to the upbeat dance music that the bar only brought out on holidays.

"I saw your photos. It looked like you had a good time." Gendry called as he passed her a whiskey he had clearly ordered after she had texted she was on her way.

"It was great." Arya admitted as she took the glass thankfully. She waved at Davos as he caught sight of her from the other end of the bar. "What about you?"

"Well I didn't have any dog piles but it was still a good holiday. Davos's wife is pretty great." Gendry said as he reached his hand out to put on her waist to steady her as someone knocked into her with their exuberant dancing. They called an apology to her as they moved further into the crowd.

Gendry rolled his eyes and took the pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, holding it up like a question. Arya nodded gratefully and followed after him through the crowd, careful not to spill her drink as they pushed their way to the back porch where the smokers usually hung out. For once it was empty, the acrid lingering smell of smoke the only sign that anyone had been there at all.

Gendry passed her a cigarette which she took gratefully and he lit his own as he looked down at her questioningly.

"Did you want to stay?" he asked, his voice hesitant like he wasn't sure if he should be asking.

Not following his question Arya shook her head, "Stay where?" she asked as she took a slow drag of the cigarette.

"In Winterfell." Gendry said, his eyes not leaving hers. She was surprised to see the amount of vulnerability there in them. Had he really thought she wasn't going to come back?

"No." Arya admitted because the thought of staying hadn't really crossed her mind. She had been scared it would too but it hadn't. Sure she was filled with the thought of coming back but that wasn't until she was done here in King's Landing.

Gendry smiled a little at that and nodded and Arya was a bit relieved he had dropped the subject so easily. She wondered how long he had been worried that she wouldn't come back.

"Do I get to kiss you at midnight?" Gendry asked suddenly causing Arya to let out a startled laugh.

"Sure, if you play your cards right." Arya said with a smile, both of them knowing she was just teasing.

"Cool. I've always wanted to kiss my girlfriend on New Year's Eve." Gendry said nonchalantly making Arya's breath freeze in her throat. She was suddenly grateful she hadn't had a lungful of smoke when he had said that.

"Am I your girlfriend?" Arya asked, surprised by how soft her voice sounded.

Gendry hesitated for a moment before he shrugged, his voice matching hers in volume as he replied. "If you want to be."

Arya paused before she stubbed out her cigarette and carefully placed her drink down on one of the benches. She could feel Gendry watching her curiously as she struggled to find what she wanted to say. She stopped in front of him, only inches between them as she tried to decide if she should just say 'yes' or something more profound. In the end, she did neither.

"Of course I do stu-." Gendry grinned and bent down to kiss her, cutting off the last word in her mouth. Arya didn't mind as she rose her hands up to tangle in his hair. Gendry wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off her feet, spinning her in a brief circle before setting her down again. Arya wondered if she would ever get used to the magic of kissing him, she very much doubted it.

Gendry brushed a piece of hair behind her ear and cupped her face in his hand before he leaned down to kiss her again. Arya pushed up onto her tiptoes as she wound her fingers into the lapels of his coat to bring him closer to her.

Arya had thought when she had come to King's Landing that she would never be happy anywhere that wasn't Winterfell, that wasn't home. She hadn't realized yet that a person could have more than one home. King's Landing had never been part of her plan and as such she had never thought that she would be able to be happy there. She had never been so happy to be wrong.

The sudden sound of catcalls and whistling made Arya slowly pull away from Gendry and she glared over her shoulder at Lommy, Hot-Pie and Aegon who stood grinning at them from the doorway. Arya rolled her eyes at their comments and Gendry snapped at them to shut up as he put an arm around her shoulders. Arya leaned against him as Davos pushed past them to quickly sneak a cigarette before he had to go back to the bar. Arya smiled at them all as she burrowed closer to Gendry's side. She had come to this dirty city with every intention of leaving it almost as soon as she got there. She had never planned to even make friends and yet here she was with a whole pack.

The sound of the countdown began to float out the open door and Davos cursed as he stubbed his cigarette into the ashtray and pushed past the boys into the bar, they followed after him hurriedly but Gendry and Arya stood where they were, the music loud enough that they could hear it through the closed door like it a second heartbeat, like it was the pulse of the city itself. They could just make out the countdown from behind the closed door and they joined in on a whisper as Gendry looked down at her in wonder. At the sound of the loud cheers coming from inside Gendry rested his forehead against hers before leaning down to kiss her softly. Arya couldn't believe how far they had come in the last year and she wound her arms around Gendry's neck as she smiled against his lips.

"Seriously you guys, you're missing it!" Lommy's voice suddenly called out to them and Arya waved him off and continued kissing Gendry. Lommy groaned in disgust before letting the door shut behind him. There was nothing happening in that bar than was better than what was happening out here. Arya knew that for a fact because Gendry was out there with her. They stayed out there kissing under the stars long into the new year.


End file.
